Varyag under tow
It was a cruiser
yitbos
ping
IIRC, this is an old WWII POS they spent 5 years retrofitting.
If we are worried about chine, we at least have a few years to not worry about the sea, since China can’t use all it’s resources to build an Aircraft carrier from scratch.
And anyone in the world can see that sloping take-off ramp is dumber than dirt.
I won’t stop worrying completely, but it is a little comforting to see China isn’t the powerhouse we imagine it to be.
It was a cruiser
yitbos
[Chang. . .had not seen any form of arresting gear on the carrier — the mechanical system that rapidly decelerates a plane as it lands. . .”That’s very strange. It’s very complicated technology and the Chinese haven’t installed it. . .they can’t land any fighters, probably only helicopters.”]
It may be this ship is intended to be an LPH carrying troops and helicopters for amphibious operations. But the photos shows what looks like the flight deck ending in a jump ramp like the small Royal Navy carriers have.
It's a day that has been coming for a number of years as they have refitted the old Varyag. Now she's out to sea.
They have developed an effective strike fighter for her too...a modernized, updated version of the russina SU-33 called the J-15. It will take them years to become effective in carrier operations, particularly air operations...but they are jumping in with both feet with this carrier, and the two more they are already building simultaneously at Shanghai.
it is creating a naval arms raise in the Western Pacific as the Indians, Japanese, Australians, and Korea all scramble to devlop their own carrier type vessels. The Chinese beat the Indians in launching this one as the Indans are refitting another old Russian Carrier and building two of their own.
