Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag towed to Dalian Shipyard in North Eastern China

wikipedia ^

[John H K]

I'd like to know where you came up with your "operational in two years" figure and your sources. I have a suspicion none of them are people that have the foggiest idea of what they are talking about regarding naval matters.

Varyag is decrepit and rotting. Unmaintained for over a decade with no preservation measures. Had at least one major fire on board. It will float...that's about it. Even the Kuznetsov, brand new, and operated by the Soviets, was a piece of crap.

It takes the US far longer than two years to fit out a brand new Nimitz, farther along in construction, and in perfect condition, after it has been launched.

And lets see...the Chinese need to come up with navalised aircraft, train pilots to land and take off on a carrier, figure out the complex dance of moving aircraft around on a deck, etc. etc. etc. etc....all of which they don't have and have never done.

[rmlew]

Hey don't sweat it. The Russkis know from nothing about carriers. Probably one of those ski-jump jobs, or a carrier for that funky combloc VTOL naval fighter.

The Admiral Kuznetsov class are not American style supercarriers but they are more than just V/Stol carriers.
The Kuznetsov class is an evolution of the Kiev class designed to carry navalized fixed wing SU-27k and Mig-29K as well as helicopters. Like the Kiev it has a ski-jump (instead of catapults) and serious ant-shipping capabilities.

[Archaeus]

Wake up! China is a very old Nation and very patient. If they have to wait a hundred years to grind us under their boots so be it. But at the present pace it will be a lot sooner.

It's building up it's military and they're doing it for a reason.
Anyone want to take a shot at why they are building up?
Think!

Do you want to be around in 10 or 20 years when they have a FLEET of carriers? Casino my eye!
If the world thinks it can control China by giving it technology, industry, military equipment, a giant balance of trade and secrets it's not only stupid but suicidal.

Why don't we just give them Korea and Taiwan now and save them the trouble of having to destroy us for it.
Holy crimoley! There must be something in the water!

[GeronL]

several Russian carriers have been sold to China, I understand an old WW-2 American carrier was sold to China (by Australia?) for scrap. Its deck was moved to land, and Chinese pilots practice landing on it.

[WIMom]

It's that time again, please help keep this site running, click on the picture to donate by secure credit card.

Or mail checks to
FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794


Send PayPal direct to JimRob@psnw.com

80,000 Freepers and Growing - Freepathon

[TEXICAN II]

Never mind the details-we should have had agents with cash in hand to outbid all others & buy ALL Soviet era items!

A small amount for security over the last decade would have meant fewer prob's now! But then we do enjoy our wonderful democracy, a few producers, many fools who accept the money stolen by force from the producers, means many votes for another fool! Did I say democracy? I meant voluntary subjagation to a totalitarian authority.

[fella]

This thing was towed through international waters for monthes and there are no pictures of it?

[MadRobotArtist]

Agreed. We should have bought that ship, like we bought up their surplus T-72 and T-82 tanks.

[Sawdring]

At "a href="http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/">Geostrategy Direct they have a write up and a satellite picture of the vessel at dock. I think you can view the full image if you aren't a subscriber. If not give me a holler and I'll send you the pic and their version of the story.

[Sawdring]

Geostrategy Direct. Whoops, sloppy HTML. Here is the link.

[Sawdring]

[jackbill]

In 10 years they will be able to nuke any city in the U.S. I mean, with them having that kind of capability, how many carriers would they really need to become an even more serious national security threat?

I wonder what one BLU-118B will do to an aircraft carrier.

[Non-Sequitur]

Its deck was moved to land, and Chinese pilots practice landing on it.

OK, I've kept out of this nonsence until now but I've got to ask the obvious question. Why in God's name would you move the flight seck to land in order to practice landings? Wouldn't it make more sense to take a secion of runway, mark out the dimensions, and practice on that?

[Non-Sequitur]

This thing was towed through international waters for monthes and there are no pictures of it?

Sure there are. I found a couple with a single query with a single search engine.

[GeronL]

I read that on some naval warfare site, they apprently either did one of those things. Built come kind of plateau in the shape of a carrier.

[GeronL]

#31- That was via satellite???

How good are our satellites?? whose satellite was this??

[rightwing2]

Great picture. Thanks! Looks pretty good for a flattop that is only 70% complete, doesn't it?

[rightwing2]

There was no Soviet Carrier called the "Novasibirsk". There was the Novorossiysk, which was scrapped in South Korea.

What are you talking about? The Novorossiysk was purchased by the ChiCom PLA owned corporation in 1998 from the same South Korean ChiCom front company that was supposed to scrap it. See the article and excerpts below, which relate a lot of facts about ChiCom purchases of Russian aircraft carriers which you appear to have missed.

ChiComs Study Their Four Purchased Russian Aircraft Carriers in Prelude to Building Their Own

Writing in Jane’s Defence Weekly in January, Mr Davis said: "There is substantial co-operation between Russia and China over the design and construction of aircraft carriers, and former Soviet Navy carriers have been transferred to China in the past. "In 1995 the Kiev-class Minsk and Novorossiysk were sold to South Korea and then in 1998 resold to Chinese companies. "The Minsk later appeared in the port of Shenzhen, and has been restored to original condition as a ‘tourist attraction’, complete with ‘replica’ aircraft, missile systems, and ‘working’ electronics. The Novorossiysk was sold directly to China for scrap in May 2000 allegedly to become another ‘tourist carrier’."

Isn't it interesting how these alleged ChiCom "tourist" carriers (only one of which is actually being "used" in such a fashion) are garrisoned by ChiCom military personnel and being "studied" by them on a regular basis? The Varyag is the new crown jewel of the PLA Navy. The Kiev class is a more or less obslescent design, while the Kutzenov class carriers are much more modern and will serve as a suitable model for the initial class of three 60,000 ton PLA Navy carriers, which the ChiComs are beginning to build.