US Navy chief hints aircraft carrier could be sent through Taiwan Strait, despite threat (trunc)

The Independent via Yahoo ^ | January 18th, 2019 | Unattributed

[Zhang Fei]

[While still not being able to manufacture a high-performance jet engine that will run for more than 100 hours. Even when provided the detailed engineering plans.]

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Blueprints don’t show you how to make high performance alloys. And China’s starting from a low base, both in terms of defense industry knowhow and a budgetary standpoint. It has traditionally spent about 2% of GDP on defense. In 2000, its defense budget was just over $20b, compared to about $200b today, mirroring the eightfold increase in its national output since then. Anyway, it seems to have solved its engine problem, whether through re-inventing the wheel thanks to either the sheer weight of ever-expanding appropriation budgets, industrial espionage or the purchase of the relevant metallurgical expertise from a cash-strapped source nation (I’m guessing Russia or Ukraine):

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2163126/engine-boost-chinas-j-15-fighter-jets-it-tries-build-navy

[Mariner]

All I can say about their engine development is that I will believe it when they mass produce and deploy 500 engines with at least an 500 hour service life.

Until then, it’s just another Chinese cartoon.

[Zhang Fei]

[Putting 3 Frigates in waters 2,500 miles from home with a friendly port 500 miles away is something the Iranian Navy could do. Yet the Chinese brag about it.]

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The Bering Gap is 4000 miles away from the nearest Chinese port. And I’ve read somewhere PLA Navy ships do not dock in Russian ports, which kind of makes me wonder how friendly these two countries really are. It’s understandable, given China’s expansive territorial ambitions. In addition, Russia’s and China’s most well-equipped units are positioned more or less opposite each other.

[Zhang Fei]

[All I can say about their engine development is that I will believe it when they mass produce and deploy 500 engines with at least an 500 hour service life.

Until then, it’s just another Chinese cartoon.]

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At this point, I think Chinese mastery of the metallurgy required to make the engines is fait accompli. The key passage from a recent article:

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https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2127796/china-talks-sale-jet-engine-technology-germany
[Professor Peng Jiahui, who studied laser processing
technology in Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said many Chinese researchers and engineers who had worked at GE, Pratt &Whitney and Rolls-Royce had returned to China and significantly increased the pace of jet engine development.]

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This is presumably why a Chinese spymaster was nabbed in Belgium a few months ago.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/chinese-spy-charged-with-stealing-us-military-secrets-and-extradited-for-prosecution/2018/10/10/b2a7325c-cc97-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html?utm_term=.3dd878881b93

[Mariner]

From Beijing to Anchorage is under 4,000 miles.

And those frigates were barely north of the Aleutians.

[Phil DiBasquette]

Crypto-liberals always say this, but they can never tell you
when it WOULD be appropriate

[Phil DiBasquette]

Ancient American secret, huh?

[Bull Snipe]

good call, a Navy Chief is an E7

[Bull Snipe]

not really, the Japanese didn’t have much problem sinking several battleships in Pearl Harbor.

[Bull Snipe]

Why does it have to be a bubble head. maybe a black shoe chief would due.

[Zhang Fei]

[Ancient American secret, huh?]

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I suppose it was only a matter of time. Why re-invent the wheel? One thing I’ll given the Communists - in the field of espionage/suborning the enemy, they could give the KGB/FSB a run for their money, even on a good day.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/question-why-didnt-mao-invade-taiwan-26171