Free Republic

As I reported over the weekend, the Chinese have rolled out their 1st Stealth Fighter Prototype, the J-20...several years early and conducted taxi tests. They may conduct the first flight this week. This story is now being picked up by Aviation Week, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Google, Yahoo, etc. The PLAAF 1st Prototype Stealth Fighter, the J-20, in Taxi tests As reported in my 2011 Update to the Rising Sea Dragon in Asia

(Click on any image for a larger picture) The year of 2010 has seen the PLAN ramp up its shipbuilding again significantly. New units of the Type 054A FFG Guided missiles Frigate, the Xuzhou Class with radar reducing signatures, VLS missiles and helo capabilities. New units of the Type 052C DDG Guided missile Desroyer, the Lanzhou Class with VLS, Phased Array Radar (PAR), and an AEGIS style battle management system. New units of the Type 093 SSN, Nuclear attack Submarine, the Shang Class, with improved reactors, sensors, and weapons suite. New units of the SSK Independent Air Propulsion diesel/electric...

spent the morning at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment’s release of their new report “AirSea Battle: A Point of Departure Operational Concept” (you can find the report here as well as the briefing slides). Lots to unpack here from the 123 page report, the author’s brief and the lively discussion that followed. CSBA says that China’s military modernization aims at denying U.S. air and maritime freedom of maneuver and access in the Western Pacific (WestPac) by targeting bases and ships with precision guided missiles. China’s buildup of increasingly capable anti-access/area-denial “battle networks” will, over time, make the current...

How to Simulate Being A Sailor 1. Buy a dumpster, paint it gray inside and out, and live in it for six months. 2. Run all the pipes and wires in your house exposed on the walls. 3. Repaint your entire house every month. 4. Renovate your bathroom. Build a wall across the middle of the bathtub and move the shower head to chest level. When you take showers, make sure you turn off the water while you soap down. 5. Put lube oil in your humidifier and set it on high. 6. Once a week, blow air up your...

Four South Korean sailors missing after ship capsized; South Korea searched for North Korean submarine Four South Korean navy sailors were missing Wednesday after their ship capsized and sank during stormy weather off the southeastern coast, officials said. The ship with a five-man crew went missing around midnight Tuesday while returning from a nighttime training mission, Defense Ministry spokesman Nam Dae-yon said. A sailor was rescued by other navy vessels searching the area. Nam said the ship developed engine trouble amid stormy weather and sank 37 kilometers (23 miles) off Ulsan, an industrial city on the southeast coast. The accident...

USS Charlotte Deploys to Western Pacific Story Number: NNS040901-08 Release Date: 9/1/2004 10:18:00 AM By Journalist 3rd Class Corwin Colbert, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- USS Charlotte (SSN 766) departed for a Western Pacific deployment from its homeport of Pearl Harbor Aug. 25. According to Cmdr. Dennis Carpenter, commanding officer of Charlotte, during the last several months, the crew has been training non-stop for the upcoming deployment. “Charlotte has completed the rigorous training cycle that all submarines go through," he said. "We look forward to helping keep peace in the 7th...