Posted on 03/19/2021 1:20:21 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
Satellite imagery shows significant progress on the construction of what is, by every indication, a massive new military heliport in China very close to the Taiwan Strait. Continued work on the facility, which is around a half a mile from the water's edge, only some 150 miles from Taiwan proper, and even closer to various islands that Taiwanese authorities control, comes amid a surge in charged rhetoric between officials in Beijing and their counterparts in both Taipei and Washington. This makes it strategically positioned to support any future operations to control the Strait or even invade Taiwan.
Twitter user @detresfa_, an independent open-source intelligence analyst who has worked as a consultant to The Intel Lab, an independent intelligence analysis group, first highlighted the recent developments at the facility in Fujian Province's Zhangpu County last week. Work began at the site, the official name of which is unknown, sometime between May and June 2019, based on imagery The War Zone reviewed from Planet Labs.
At present, the heliport has a single runway that is around 2,140 feet long, including a circular turnaround at its eastern end, as well as an adjacent flightline that is just under 6,000 feet in length, but relatively narrow. A satellite image, dated Feb. 18, 2021, which is available through Google Earth, seen above, shows 18 hangars, as well as nine more in various states of construction, along the ramp.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...
providng a nice big future target to aim for
How dare China build a military base on its own territory!
What will be the launching platform for those anti-airfield weapons?
Our CVNs are now dead meat before they get into aircraft launching range of mainland China. (This is why they don’t care about Taiwan Strait transits anymore. They are meaningless and everybody knows it.)
If we launch Tomahawks from our converted Los Angeles Class boomers, they will wipe Guam off the map.
From what U.S. platforms do you envision this attack on mainland China?
I am thinking that Taiwan should invest in some high powered, mobile ground to air laser capability.
At least there are no mean tweets, and France and Germany give nothing but awe and respect
Bkmrk
Probably just for virus testing missions...
China is welcome to mount a helicopter assault on Taiwan across the Strait. 1/4 of China’s poor quality junk choppers would have to ditch.
It’s really only a matter of time before China acts regarding Taiwan.
“Our CVNs are now dead meat before they get into aircraft launching range of mainland China...If we launch Tomahawks from our converted Los Angeles Class boomers, they will wipe Guam off the map.
Yeah, but it will be a “crime against humanity” when we strike back.
Right, why sink a ton of resources into a structure that will be destroyed by aircraft or missiles within an hour of an outbreak of war.
It has long been publicly unspoken yet fully understood policy that any catastrophic attack on a carrier would merit a nuclear response. Our friends know that and our enemies know it as well.
Of course, that was before our first dementia patient president, so who knows how they would respond now.
Yeah, but it will be a “crime against humanity” when we strike back.
Bkmk
Taiwan has invested in a *lot* of anti-air & anti-ship missiles (think Silkworm) and will make whoever comes across that strait understand what Pyrrhus tried to teach. There are probably a couple of missiles aimed at the Three Gorges dam also. They would take Taiwan, but nobody will be happy.
I actually think they will make an offer Taiwan cannot refuse, i.e. if you want to be alive after the takeover, give up peacefully. Or just drop 10 or so thermobaric weapons and get rid of the carbon based stuff.
I like how ChiComs are putting all their eggs in one basket and making the target really close.
My guess is that first they'll grab some of the outlying islands to get a feel for international response.
This reminds me of an inside joke that my friends and I used to use when we played Risk. Any time someone piled a ton of armies on someone else’s border, we’d say “purely defensive.”
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.