Posted on 12/16/2010 11:37:59 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
China has officially admitted for the first time that it has embarked on an aircraft carrier building program, part of a grand strategy to "build itself up as a maritime power."
A report published by the State Oceanic Administration says the country's leaders decided last year to back plans to build China's first aircraft carrier. The Chinese government and military had kept the program under wraps until now.
The annual national ocean development report says that asserting China's power at sea is "indispensible to accomplishing the great resurgence of the Chinese people."
Chinese military sources said initial plans had called for launching a conventional powered carrier with a displacement of between 50,000 and 60,000 tons in 2015. But, with construction progressing quickly, the launch of the first Chinese-made aircraft carrier now appears to be set for 2014.
(Excerpt) Read more at asahi.com ...
PRC should beware of the ‘Kamikaze ‘
China doesn’t have the expertise to build or operate an aircraft carrier. They are throwing money down a rat hole.
I agree.
All governments are just fundamentally stupid. Or stupid and venal. Or stupid, venal, and incompetent. Nature of the beast.
Best we trim ours back.
/johnny
Is a goobernment. Is their function.
Ambrose Bierce was an optimist.
/johnny
As if they could hide building an aircraft carrier :)
Those plans likely have BJ Clinton’s finger prints on them.
China doesn’t have the expertise to build or operate an aircraft carrier. They are throwing money down a rat hole.
******************
There was a time we did not either.
You have a very good point
I'm almost sure that there was a thread about it a couple of years ago with lots of pics of it under construction.
I wonder if they will have shrimp fried rice in the officers mess? I like shrimp fried rice...
Here we go again...
Personally, I think the Shi Lang (formerly the Varyag) and her follow-on sisters is going to be damn effective. Much more effective at what they are being designed for than anyone on FR (with the possible exception of Jeffhead himself) is willing to believe. Much more effective and combat capable than the Admiral Kutnezsov -- and I think the Shi Lang herself, is going to be operational much faster than people believe possible.
Are the ChiComs going to make some mistakes learning the lessons? Sure! They have probably made more than a few already -- which is probably at least part of the reason it's taking them so long to get this lady out to sea.
But they will get that lady out to sea, and they will master carrier flight operations (again, probably a lot faster than anyone here is willing to bet), and they will build more.
As far as her size and lack of steam catapults are concerned, I just shake my head and sigh. People look at her and look at our big brawny Nimitz class carriers and smirk. That, in my opinion is foolish.
She was never designed or intended to go airwing to airwing against American supercarriers. Chinese anti-carrier doctrine revolves around cruise missiles (both sub and surface launched) and their new anti-carrier MRBMs. The Shi Lang is the perfect size for her mission, which will be power projection in the Southeast Asian, Indian Ocean and African areas, in support of Chinese geopolitical objectives involving developing nations.
To give just one example, how does anyone think Indonesia or Malaysia is going to react, if during one of their regular orgies of ethnic Chinese bashing, the Shi Lang (carrying an airwing of 30 to 50 SU-33s) and her battlegroup were to show up offshore?
Then there is the PLAN itself and the casual contempt in which too many FReepers seem to hold them. People really need to take a good look at Jeffhead's THE RISING SEA DRAGON page:
http://www.jeffhead.com/redseadragon/
and realize that China is building a modern blue water force that is very capable, professional and has the specific mission of driving the US out of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The PLAN did not have the expertise to field a world class submarine force 30 years ago, but they certainly do now. Enough of one to sneak a boat well inside the screen of one of our carriers and then flip us the bird by surfacing.
We need to stop making scoffing comments and wake up to smell the coffee. These are serious professional people operating top quality hardware.
(Most of that was copied from a previous thread, but it remains germane.)
PLAN Ping!
This sort of “Chinese can’t do what we can” dismissive attitude is foolish.
China just built the world’s fastest computer, and has been a nuclear power for half a decade.
China is cleaning our clocks in technology and manufacturing, and will PAY FOR their new aircraft carriers (plural) with all the massive amount of trade dollars we send them - buying things manufactured by factories - many of which have direct links with the PLA (and/or PLAN)
We are committing national suicide through “free trade”.
This willful blindness one sees from our side is unbecoming and dangerous.
Unless the result looks like a Nimitz class carrier I'd say the fingerprints on the plans are more Russian than American.
(typo)
China has been a nuclear power for 5 decades.
What is it about China which makes otherwise patriotic, intelligent conservatives who would recognize a Soviet threat a mile away - so stubbornly, willfully blind to the arguably LARGER threat China’s militarism presents America?
It’s like a sort of political correctness.
Brainwashing. By “free trade” interests, utterly unconcerned with American security.
There’s a word for that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.