China Could Field its First Carrier in 2011

[foxhound]

Salaam.....

Ref:http://defensetech.org/


China Could Field its First Carrier in 2011

Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone!

Here’s one more example of new China’s fast modernizing military tech. Smoke coming from the stack of ex-Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag (now the Shi Lang) that’s being rapidly converted into what’s assumed to be China’s first operational carrier. The ship’s come a long way in the last 10 years.

Just last week, Reuters reported that the PLAAN was planning (oh, stupid pun!) to launch the ship in 2011; a full year ahead of U.S. intelligence estimates.
China may be ready to launch its first aircraft carrier in 2011, Chinese military and political sources said on Thursday, a year ahead of U.S. military analysts’ expectations.

Analysts expect China to use its first operational aircraft carrier to ensure the security of its oil supply route through the Indian Ocean and near the disputed Spratly Islands, but full capability is still some years away.
“The period around July 1 next year to celebrate the (Chinese Communist) Party’s birthday is one window (for launch),” one source with ties to the leadership told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the carrier programme is one of China’s most closely guarded secrets.

The Defense Ministry spokesman’s office declined to comment.

The possible launch next year of the ex-Soviet aircraft carrier ‘Varyag’ for training, and testing technology, will be one step toward building an operating aircraft carrier group, analysts said.
The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence estimates the Varyag will be launched as a training platform by 2012, and China will have an operational domestically built carrier after 2015.
Yes, this is a relatively old ship and it takes years to master the art of effective carrier ops. Still, China is making serious gains in its military technology and we shouldn’t underestimate its learning curve as The Heritage Foundation’s Dean Cheng points out over at sister site, DoDBuzz.

Here are some more pics of the smoking ship.

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Read more: http://defensetech.org/#ixzz1AN3shHVc
Defense.org

 

[foxhound]

ref:China Defense Blog: when there is smoke there is fire

Thursday, December 23, 2010
when there is smoke there is fire

China speeds plans to launch aircraft carrier: sources
By Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING | Thu Dec 23, 2010 4:08am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China may be ready to launch its first aircraft carrier in 2011, Chinese military and political sources said on Thursday, a year ahead of U.S. military analysts' expectations.
Analysts expect China to use its first operational aircraft carrier to ensure the security of its oil supply route through the Indian Ocean and near the disputed Spratly Islands, but full capability is still some years away.

"The period around July 1 next year to celebrate the (Chinese Communist) Party's birthday is one window (for launch)," one source with ties to the leadership told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the carrier programme is one of China's most closely guarded secrets.

The Defense Ministry spokesman's office declined to comment.

The possible launch next year of the ex-Soviet aircraft carrier 'Varyag' for training, and testing technology, will be one step toward building an operating aircraft carrier group, analysts said.

The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence estimates the Varyag will be launched as a training platform by 2012, and China will have an operational domestically built carrier after 2015.

Andrew Erickson and Andrew Wilson of the U.S. Naval College wrote that it was "conceivable that carrier-relevant research, development, and even production ... could proceed with a rapidity that might surprise Western analysts."
China, which would be the third Asian country to have a carrier after India and Thailand, needs hardware, software and pilot training.
"The acquisition of a carrier doesn't equate to the acquisition of a capability -- the ability to use it effectively -- the latter involving a process that can take decades," said Robert Karniol, a veteran defense analyst based in Canada.

The 300-meter (1,000-foot) Varyag is undergoing refit at a state-run shipyard in northeastern city Dalian, sources said.

A Chinese firm bought the then-engineless Varyag from Ukraine in 1998 for $20 million, planning to convert it to a floating casino in Macau, but the Chinese military then bought the vessel.
Chinese air force pilots have yet to master takeoffs and landings from carriers. They have been undergoing training, but have far fewer flying hours than their U.S. peers.
"They must realize that their learning curve will be costly in terms of blood and treasure," Erickson and Wilson wrote.

"The Varyag will allow us to familiarize ourselves with aircraft carrier tactics of war," one Chinese military source said.
The United States and China's neighbors are nervous about how China could use its growing navy, and speeding up preparations for an aircraft carrier group could add to those jitters.

"Just the prospect of China building aircraft carriers has already made neighbors uneasy," former Taiwan deputy defense minister Lin Chong-Pin said in an interview.
China has refused to rule out the use of force to unify with Taiwan, a self-ruled island over which Beijing claims sovereignty. Tensions between the two sides have eased in recent years.

In March, China announced a 7.5 percent increase in its 2010 military budget to about $78.6 billion. But Washington suspects Chinese spending to be double that figure.

China is seeking to buy ship-borne Su-33 jets from Russia and is working on a variant of its own J-10.
The Varyag will be based in the southern province of Hainan.

(Additional reporting by Sabrina Mao; Editing by Chris Buckley and Daniel Magnowski)

 

[maverick1977]

Once this experience is gained by china, they might start experimenting with super carriers of 100 thousand tons weight housing more squardons in em.

 

[siegecrossbow]

So much for the gambling casino.

 

[PRACTICAL PATRIOT]

Once this experience is gained by china, they might start experimenting with super carriers of 100 thousand tons weight housing more squardons in em.

atleast let them make their own first small carrier. why are you in so hurry?

 

[Guynextdoor]

So much for the gambling casino.

Lol!!! Exactly what I was thiking. She's a fine looking ship now. Thank god they didn't turn her into a casino with pink paint and disco lights all over her. 'Star attraction' bowling alley on the flight deck.

Now she'll get to live out her destiny as a warship.

 

[Akasa]

It's a training carrier. So, it's not a true aircraft carrier.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Lol!!! Exactly what I was thiking. She's a fine looking ship now. Thank god they didn't turn her into a casino with pink paint and disco lights all over her. 'Star attraction' bowling alley on the flight deck.

Now she'll get to live out her destiny as a warship.

PLAN believes she is too obsolete to be a real carrier of 21th century.

They bought it decade ago, the purpose was only to study the structure design of a carrier, maybe later to become a trainingship at most.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

atleast let them make their own first small carrier. why are you in so hurry?

China now is working on the 100,000 tonnes class nuclear powered supercarrier. The Super AC will be built in the shipyard in Shanghai, which is a bigger and a more advanced shiyard in than the shipyard in Dalian(where is Varyag's homeport).

 

[Blueblood]

China now is working on the 100,000 tonnes class nuclear powered supercarrier. The Super AC will be built in the shipyard in Shanghai, which is a bigger and a more advanced shiyard in than the shipyard in Dalian(where is Varyag's homeport).

i am tie of brag

 

[applesauce]

So much for the gambling casino.

LIES i bet the sailors in their off times will gamble in the sleep quarters

 

[CardSharp]

LIES i bet the sailors in their off times will gamble in the sleep quarters

I can almost hear the muffled klacking of Mahjong tiles after lightsouts.

 

[casual]

PLAN believes she is too obsolete to be a real carrier of 21th century.

They bought it decade ago, the purpose was only to study the structure design of a carrier, maybe later to become a trainingship at most.

even so, it is still some serious military hardware.

and why is it obsolete? carriers need to do to be operational is be a floating runway.