THE NEW CHINESE CARRIER OUT OF DRY DOCK AND DEPARTING
Posted on 11/01/2011 3:04:18 PM PDT by Jeff Head
The new Chinese aircraft carrier, which conducted its first sea trials in August, has emerged from dry dock and is apparently at sea once again for more trials.
While in dry dock her hull was scraped and painted, her deck received a new non-skid coat, and she may have had arresting wires installed, though that last is not confirmed.
The former Russian carrier, Varyag, purchased from Ukraine and towed to China in 2003, has spent over 7 years being refit and refurbished and is now undergoing sea trials.
...and we are funding it.
All the better to be able to kick hell out of Viet Nam when they fight over ocean bottom riches.
“...and we are funding it.”
That’s right, keep shopping at Wal-Mart America. IDIOTS!
The underway replenishment vessels bother me. This isn’t a coastal defense navy. This is projection of national power into any corner of the world they want. For the past 60 years or so, that was our exclusive domain. Seems the Chicoms read Mahan.
Here's a pic of them conducting UNREP:
Chinese JUNK - nice TARGET!
Chinese JUNK - nice TARGET!
Click on pic for past Navair pings. Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist. The only requirement for inclusion in the Navair Pinglist is an interest in Naval Aviation. This is a medium to low volume pinglist.
Yep.
Brilliant own goal, IMO. Somewhere, someone had a brilliant idea within Republican party circles: “I know! Let’s give a bunch of communists a huge, growing and persistent trade surplus! This way, we can have a real need for sky-high military spending out as far as the eye can see! We’ll even let the communists make high tech hardware and we’ll import the same stuff we used to make here in the US from the commies!”
“Why, that sounds insane? How are we ever going to sell that to the American people?”
“We’ll call it.... ‘Free Trade.’ “
How much of that technology was stolen or sold by Clinton?
Keeping ignoring where things are made when you shop, people!
Personally witnessed the CHICOMs being GIVEN our technology in the 80s under Reagan. Aerospace component factory toured by conga lines of Chinese engineers (spys).
Look at the pic of the vessels above doing UNREP (underway replenishment). The large vessel to the left looks very similar to our new San Antonio Class LPD. The large combatant to the right and lower on the pic is very similar to our AEGIS class Burke destroyers, including the PAR (Phased Array Radar). The frigate bringing up the rear is quite similar to the French La Fayette class.
Those are all ver nice combatants and the Chinese now have enough money to train regularly and vigorously. It is clear that their aspirations are for the blue water out beyond the 2nd island chain in the Western Pacific.
There have been too many “exhanges” to list where we have allowed the Chinese access to our own vessels, where their officers have been invited to cross deck and travel with our vessels, including AEGIS destroyers and cruisers.
They are quick studies and in the last 10 years they have closed what was a 25+ year gap to probably less than 10 in terms of the vessels themselves.
Now, I doubt seriously that their weapons systems and sensors and computing power have closed the gap as greatly...but they have closed it appreciably because they are using vertical launch missiles tied to anb integrated battle management system and datal link capabilities which they never had before.
...and while they are building up and launching new vessels like gangbusters, we are stillreucing our numbers. The NAvy announced latetly the retirement of up to nine AEGIS cruisers and another Carrier Strike Group to be considered for cuts in 2013-2014.
We continue to build a lot of Burke destroyers. The new Ford class carriers are being built (but will probably top out at a max on ten, if not nine) and we are continuing the Virginia class nuclear attack subs. Our new Littoral combatants are being built...but they are weak in terms of overall armament and are not true multi-purpose combatants, having to come into dock to swap mission packs to change from surface combat to anti-submarine for example.
Anyhow, hopefully we get a strong president and equally strong House and Senate in 2013 and turn this around too.
When I was looking at your UNREP photo last night, I noticed how similar the Chinese ships appeared to ours. I thought it couldn’t be that the current state of technology demands that all ships look the same. I know Chinese military representatives have been given way too much access to both military bases and civilian contractor production facilities. What the Chinese do with reverse engineering to our commercial industry is also happening with our military hardware. I refer to those military missions as “shopping sprees.”
My fear, previously stated, is that if we get another four years of 0bama, our economy and government finances willget much worse. The Chinese will give us an offer we can’t refuse: payoff enough of our debt to avoid default, by having us pawn the family jewels. In our case, it would be complete aircraft carrier battle groups.
You may find this hard to believe, but the Chinese want a strong US military. China's economic future depends heavily on global security in which the US is willing to pay for, both in military hardware and blood.
China's military rise has more to do with two things 1) China is an emerging power and feels that it should have a military commensurate with their economic clout 2) To be the key power in their own backyard.
While, the second reason appears to be a direct challenge to the US, it really is not. The Western Pacific is large area and can accommodate two powerful navies. China in no way wants to challenges America's role as the world's policeman. In fact, as I said earlier and many times in the past, the Chinese, whether they admit it or not, appreciate America's effort in maintaining global security, both in equipment and in blood. China wants to displace the US in the Western Pacific, but not on the world stage. On the world stage, the Chinese do want to be the largest economy in the world.
For example, China may not want a nuclear armed Pakistan or a nuclear armed North Korea anymore than the US. But is willing to let the US take the heat on the world stage as America confronts these counties while the Chinese quietly continues with business with these countries.
You don't just plop in a couple of arresting wires. If it didn't wires before then it'd take a lot longer than three months to rip up the flight deck and redesign the below deck spaces to install them.
Would not have to be redesigned. The class was designed for them. All of the sturcture and hardware are already there...they just had not put the wires in yet.
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