Posted on 09/28/2006 8:46:48 AM PDT by Republicain
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Russia handed over to China a destroyer equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry on Thursday, finalising a $1.5 billion deal analysts say boosts Beijing's clout in its stand-off with Taiwan.
"The handover act was signed today, and a Chinese flag was hoisted on the ship," a Russian defence industry source told Reuters, requesting anonymity.
The warship was the fourth Project 956E 'Sovremenny' (Modern) class destroyer built at the Northern Shipyard in Russia's second city St Petersburg and sold to China under a 2002 deal through Russia's state arms trader Rosoboronexport.
In the late 1990s China bought two such ships under a separate contract.
"Rosoboronexport is interested in further sales to China, and we are not talking only about ships," the defence industry source said. "The company is actively promoting its output in China. But there have been no new orders for ships."
Defence analysts say the destroyers boost China's military might in the Pacific region and against Taiwan, the island to which Nationalist forces fled when Communists took over the mainland in 1949 at the end of the Chinese civil war.
Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has vowed to attack it if it declares formal independence.
Washington is bound by law to defend Taiwan and analysts say a conflict in the Taiwan Strait could quickly become a battle between Chinese and U.S. forces.
"Concern about these ships in both Taipei and Washington is justified by the fact that Taiwan and perhaps even the U.S. Navy lacks an effective defence against the ship's SS-N-22 Sunburn (3M-80E Moskit) supersonic anti-ship missile," Washington-based think-tank the International Assessment and Strategy Center said on its Internet site www.strategycenter.net.
"This missile travels at about three times the speed of sound and can perform violent manoeuvres that can defeat most defences designed to ward off subsonic anti-ship missiles."
Apart from anti-aircraft missiles, the destroyer also carries a Ka-28 helicopter armed with rocket-propelled antisubmarine torpedoes.
In 2004-06 Russia built and sold to China six Kilo class diesel-electric submarines.
Those two countries are up to no good
What would the US Navy use to defend against such a missile?
The "Sunburn" sounds formidable.
There's "state of the art" and then there's USN state of the art.
Russia...providing the US Navy with potential targets for over 80 years.
Well...let's see...ahh...oh yeah... Naval Air Power.
No Chicomm or Russian ship would have much of a chance in a real engagement to get close enough to US Navy surface ships to ever fire a missile anything against them...
*chuckle*
China just bought some more very expensive clay pigeons for our ships to shoot down.
Exactly. I support them wasting their money on targets that will be eliminated within 10 minutes of hostilities with us. My well-founded speculation is that we track these assets 24 hours a day, have their coordinates at our fingertips, and have missiles available to take them out on short notice. Since we are the only ones successfully testing anti-missile defenses (thank you President Reagan!) ours will be safe while theirs will be vulnerable. Buy more, please!
Ditto. PLA surface fleet does not scare me if it does not have aircover from aircraft carriers and ability to logistically project power with a fleet of supply ships. In the 21st Century, what can be seen will be destroyed by precision weaponary. What does scare me is a large submarine fleet designed to attack US shipping in a time of war (since we import most of our strategic materials and components). Subs are lot tougher to find and kill before it does alot of damage.
ping
No doubt, but I do like the look of those dual 130mm turrets, though.
No kidding. That's a Navy Cross waiting to happen.
Sure,the USN can take out the Sunburn.Bigger question is whether the Taiwanese or Vietnamese navies have a similar chance???Not as of now.
These ships are not the best Russia has to offer,nor is the Sunburn.They have newer weapons like the SSN-26 Yakhont or SSN-27 Klub which are more stealthy & 'smarter' than the Sunburn.The Sovremmenys were designed to be cheap workhorses for the Soviet Navy with their steam turbine engines & limited ASW capability.They have far newer destroyers or frigates.
From what ive read about this new Chinese ships,they have had some improvements,including removal of one of the 130 mm gun turrets to install the 'Kashtan' missile-gun CIWS.
These are useless for everything barring first-strike.The Russians built them to unload their Sunburns on a US/NATO battle group & get sunk after it.Don't expect the Chinese to use it differently.
The Kursk?
A new Sov,delivered in 2005 to China-it's deck appears far less cluttered than earlier variants.
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