Shi Lang (Varyag) Nearly Complete

 

Background:

China Building A Pair of Aircraft Carrier

 Chinese Military Seeks to Extend Its Naval Power 

The People’s Republic of China’s PLAN in the Indian and Pacific Oceans: The Game is Changing and the US is Now on the Defensive
 
Chinese missile could shift Pacific power balance

First Chinese Carrier Aviators

Ukraine wants to become the international capital of carrier aviation training

Admiral Kuznetzov Sukhoi Su-33 footage...
 

Work is picking up on what appears to be China's first aircraft carrier, the Shi Lang. For eight years now, China has been tinkering with a half finished Russian aircraft carrier. 

Two years ago, this ex-Russian aircraft carrier, Varyag, was renamed the Shi Lang (after the Chinese general who took possession of Taiwan in 1681, the first time China ever paid any attention to the island) and given the pennant number 83.

Until last year, progress was slow. But there has been a lot of work lately. Early in 2009, China moved the Shi Lang into dry dock, where work is now obviously underway to install engines and other heavy equipment. 

A year ago, the radar mast was completed, and now there is a Chinese radar system being installed. Officially, the Chinese say nothing. But the dockyard workers keep at it, and it's possible to take photos from a distance. It appears that the Shi Lang is a year or so from going to sea.
For a long time, no one was sure exactly what plans the Chinese had for the Shi Lang, although work had been going on for years. It's long been believed that the carrier will eventually be used to train the first generation of Chinese carrier aviators and sailors. Or maybe not. No one who really knows anything about the plans for the Shi Lang, is speaking up. All is observation (from a distance, but good pix are numerous) and speculation.

The Varyag has been in a Chinese shipyard at Dailan since 2002. For a long time, few visible signs of work were visible; like a new paint job (in the gray shade used by the Chinese navy) and ongoing work on the superstructure (particularly the tall island on the flight deck.) Many workers could be seen on the ship, and material was seen going into (new stuff) and out of (old stuff) of the ship. Shipyard workers report ever tighter security on the carrier, and stern instructions to not report details of what is happening on the ship.

The Varyag is one of the Kuznetsov class carriers that Russia began building in the 1980s. 

Originally the Kuznetsovs were to be 90,000 ton, nuclear powered ships, similar to American carriers (complete with steam catapults). 

Instead, because of the high cost, and the complexity of modern (American style) carriers, the Russians were forced to scale back their plans, and ended up with the 65,000 ton (full load ) ships that lacked steam catapults, and used a ski jump type flight deck instead. Nuclear power was dropped, but the Kuznetsov class was still a formidable design. The 323 meter (thousand foot) long ship normally carries a dozen navalized Su-27s (called Su-33s), 14 Ka-27PL anti-submarine helicopters, two electronic warfare helicopters and two search and rescue helicopters. 

But the ship can carry up to 36 Su-33s and sixteen helicopters. 

The ship carries 2,500 tons of aviation fuel, allowing it to generate 500-1,000 aircraft and helicopter sorties. Crew size is 2,500 (or 3,000 with a full aircraft load.) 

Only two ships of this class exist; the original Kuznetsov, which is in Russian service, and the Varyag.

The Chinese have been in touch with Russian naval construction firms, and may have purchased plans and technology for equipment installed in the Kuznetsov. 

Some Chinese leaders have quipped about having a carrier by 2010 (this would have to be a refurbished Varyag), but now 2012 is more likely. Even that may be too soon, as the Chinese have been burned before when they tried to build new military technology in a hurry. The Chinese appear intent on getting it right the first time.

Two years ago, China announced that its first class of carrier aviators had begun training at the Dalian Naval Academy. The naval officers are undergoing a four year course of instruction to turn them into fighter pilots capable of operating off a carrier. 

China already has an airfield, in the shape of a carrier deck, built at an inland facility. The Russians have warned China that it may take them a decade or more to develop the knowledge and skills needed to efficiently run an aircraft carrier. The Chinese are game, and are slogging forward.

Russia/India unveils Sukhoi top secret new fighter - PAK FA

Russia on Friday unveiled a new fighter aircraft touted as a rival of the US F-22 stealth jet and developed amid the highest secrecy as part of a plan to modernize the armed forces.

The fifth generation fighter, manufactured by the Sukhoi company and known as the PAK FA, made a maiden flight of just over 45 minutes at the firm's home base of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Far East region.

"The flight lasted 47 minutes during which all the aircraft's systems were tested. It was successful," Sukhoi spokeswoman Olga Kayukova. "This is the first time it has been unveiled."

Pictures broadcast on state television showed the fighter jet -- which has been kept closely under wraps for years -- flying at altitude and then landing on a snow-surrounded runway.

"The aircraft performed well in all stages of the flight programme. It is easy and comfortable to pilot," said Sergei Bogdan, the pilot for the flight, in comments published on the Sukhoi website.

The new jet has the capability of carrying out long flights above the speed of sound as well as simultaneously attacking different targets.

Russia is currently embarking on a major programme to re-equip its military, not least the air force which is still using largely Soviet-era equipment and suffers from frequent crashes.

The new fighter, which has been in development since the 1990s, is due to enter the armed forces in 2015, Russian news agencies said.

The first flight of the PAK FA (Prospective Aviation System of Frontline Aviation) is being seen in Russia as a major boost for the military after the project was hit by repeated delays over the last years.

“Today we’ve embarked on an extensive flight test programme of the 5th generation fighter. This is a great success of both Russian science and design school.

This achievement rests upon a cooperation team comprised of more than a hundred of our suppliers and strategic partners. PAK FA programme advances Russian aeronautics together with allied industries to an entirely new technological level.

These aircraft, together with upgraded 4th generation fighters will define Russian Air Force potential for the next decades.

Sukhoi plans to further elaborate on the PAK FA programme which will involve our Indian partners. I am strongly convinced that our joint project will excel its Western rivals in cost-effectiveness and will not only allow strengthening the defense power of Russian and Indian Air Forces, but also gain a significant share of the world market”, - said Mikhail Pogosyan, Sukhoi Company Director General commenting on the launch of the flight test programme.

"There is no doubt that the plane is needed," the ex-commander of the Russian air force, Anatoly Kornukov, told the Interfax news agency.

"Our Su-27 and MiG-29 planes are good but have aged. They are 20 or more years old and it's time to have something as a replacement," he said.

He said the new plane could easily stand comparison with the US F-22, also a fifth generation stealth fighter.

"It's going to be no worse than an F-22. I've been in an F-22 and I know."

Russia's campaign to modernize its military has been marred by repeated setbacks with new equipment, above all a string of failed tests of its new Bulava sea-based intercontinental nuclear-capable missile.










Russia is currently embarking on a
major programme to re-equip its military

Russia weighs Cuba, Venezuela bases for bombers

Russia could use bases for its strategic bombers on the doorstep of the United States in Cuba and Venezuela to underpin long-distance patrols in the region, a senior air force officer said Saturday.

"This is possible in Cuba," General Anatoly Zhikharev, chief of the Russian air force's strategic aviation staff, told the Interfax-AVN military news agency.

The comments were the latest signal that Moscow intends to project its military capability in far-flung corners of the globe despite a tight defence budget and hardware that experts consider in many respects outdated.

Zhikharev said Cuba had a several air bases equipped with the long runways needed by the heavy bombers and said the facilities there were "entirely acceptable" for use by the Russian aircraft during long-distance patrols.

"If the will of the two states is there, the political will, then we are prepared to fly there", the agency quoted Zhikharev as saying.

The general also said that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had offered to let Russian strategic bombers use a military airfield on La Orchila island, a military base off the west coast of the country.

"Yes, there has been such a proposal from the Venezuelan president," Zhikharev said.

"If a relevant political decision is made, this is possible," he added.

Russia resumed patrols by its long-distance strategic bombers in August 2007 after a 15-year hiatus, noting at the time that it was mirroring the United States which never suspended its global bomber patrols after the Cold War.

Last year, Russia temporarily based a pair of Tu-160 bombers at an airbase in Venezuela in a carefully-choreographed display of force regarded by as a warning message to the United States.

A Russian flotilla led by the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great also joined Venezuelan navy vessels for manoeuvres in the Caribbean late last year, timed to coincide with a visit to the region by President Dmitry Medvedev.

Last July however, a top US air force officer warned that Russia would cross "a red line" if it were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba.

"If they did, I think we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America," said General Norton Schwartz said on July 23.

The Interfax report said there were three types of Russian aircraft capable of long-distance bomber patrols: The Tu-95MS, the Tu-160 and the Tu-22.

It was Tu-160 strategic bombers that were sent to Venezuela for temporary basing last year. Each aircraft of this type is capable of carrying 12 cruise missiles that can be fitted with nuclear warheads.

Russian navy to hold exercises in Mediterranean

Russian warships from the Arctic Ocean and the Black Sea will take part in exercises in the Mediterranean.

The RIA Novosti state news agency reported Thursday, citing a Russian navy source.

"In the Mediterranean Sea, an attack group of the Northern Fleet will meet an attack group of the Black Sea Fleet led by the guided missile cruiser Moskva," the source in navy headquarters was quoted as saying.

"They will carry out bilateral exercises, simulating a naval battle between two attack groups," he added.

A Russian navy spokesman declined to comment about the report.

The RIA Novosti source did not specify when the exercises would take place but said the Northern Fleet ships, based in the Arctic port of Severomorsk, would leave in November and spend three months on their travels.

He also said the missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, would dock in the Sicilian port of Messina.

The Moskva was one of a number of Black Sea Fleet vessels involved in Russia's controversial war with Georgia in August.

The report of the Mediterranean exercises comes a month after a different flotilla of Russian warships, also from the Northern Fleet, left for joint exercises to be held with the Venezuelan navy in the Caribbean in November.

Russia May Revive Yemeni Naval Base

After sending naval combat squadrons to Syria and Venezuela, Russia is now moving to revive its Cold War, Soviet-era naval presence in Yemen.

Sergei Mironov, speaker of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament, said Yemen and its main port of Aden could become a center for the Russian navy to fulfill "strategic goals" in the coming years.

Mironov made his comments during a visit to the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, last Thursday.

In reporting his remarks, RIA Novosti noted they were made in the context of the growing piracy threat off the horn of Africa and in the southern Red Sea. It said "authorities in Yemen already have been calling on Moscow to help fight piracy and possible terrorist threats."

"It's possible that the aspects of using Yemen ports not only for visits by Russian warships, but also for more strategic goals will be considered," Mironov told reporters.

Mironov also suggested Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh might pay a state visit to Russia soon, and the possibility of renewed military technical cooperation between the two countries could then be discussed.

Pirates based in chaotic Somalia on the other side of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden from Yemen last month extended their activities closer to the Yemeni coast when they captured a Panamanian oil tanker.

Mironov stated that Yemeni authorities had expressed concern that terrorist forces linked to the al-Qaida organization could be operating in Somalia and off its coast and that they might seek to carry out attacks in the Arabian Sea, which carries much of the world's oil export sea traffic from the Persian Gulf.

First Chinese Carrier Aviators

China announced that its first class of carrier aviators had begun training at the Dalian Naval Academy.

The naval officers will undergo a four year course of instruction to turn them into fighter pilots capable of operating off a carrier.

China already has an airfield, in the shape of a carrier deck, built at an inland facility. The Russians have warned China that it may take them a decade or more to develop the knowledge and skills needed to efficiently run an aircraft carrier. The Chinese are game, and are slogging forward.

Earlier this year, the Russian aircraft carrier Varyag was renamed the Shi Lang (after the Chinese general who took possession of Taiwan in 1681, the first time China ever paid any attention to the island) and given the pennant number 83. The Chinese have been refurbishing the Varyag, one of the Kuznetsov class that Russia began building in the 1980s, for several years now. It is expected to be ready for sea trials by the end of the year.
The Varyag has been tied up in a Chinese shipyard at Dailan since 2002. While the ship is under guard, it can be seen from a nearby highway. From that vantage point, local military and naval buffs have noted that some kind of work is being done on the ship. The only visible signs of this work are a new paint job (in the gray shade used by the Chinese navy) and ongoing work on the superstructure (particularly the tall island on the flight deck.)
Many workers can be seen on the ship, and material is seen going into (new stuff) and out of (old stuff) the ship. The new contracts are believed to be for more equipment for the Varyag, in addition to the non-custom stuff already going into the ship.

Originally the Kuznetsovs were conceived of as 90,000 ton, nuclear powered ships, similar to American carriers (complete with steam catapults). Instead, because of the cost, and the complexity of modern (American style) carriers, the Russians were forced to scale back their goals, and ended up with the 65,000 ton (full load ) ships that lacked steam catapults, and used a ski jump type flight deck instead. Nuclear power was dropped, but the Kuznetsov class was still a formidable design.

The thousand foot long carrier normally carries a dozen navalized Su-27s (called Su-33s), 14 Ka-27PL anti-submarine helicopters, two electronic warfare helicopters and two search and rescue helicopters. But the ship can carry up to 36 Su-33s and sixteen helicopters. The ship carries 2,500 tons of aviation fuel, allowing it to generate 500-1,000 aircraft and helicopter sorties. Crew size is 2,500 (or 3,000 with a full aircraft load.) Only two ships of this class exist; the original Kuznetsov, which is in Russian service, and the Varyag. Currently, the Kuznetsov is operating in the Mediterranean.

The Chinese have been in touch with Russian naval construction firms, and may have purchased plans and technology for equipment installed in the Kuznetsov. Some Chinese leaders have quipped about having a carrier by 2010 (this would have to be a refurbished Varyag). Even that would be an ambitious schedule, and the Chinese have been burned before when they tried to build new military technology in a hurry.

Admiral Kuznetzov footage...

The Sukhoi Su-33 (NATO reporting name 'Flanker-D') is a naval military aircraft produced by Russian firm Sukhoi in 1982 for aircraft carriers.

It is a derivative of the Sukhoi Su-27 and was initially known as the Su-27K. The main difference from the Su-27 is that Su-33s can operate from aircraft carriers.

Moreover, unlike the Su-27, the Su-33 can be refueled during flight.The Su-33 first flew in May 1985, and entered service in the Russian Navy in 1994. An air regiment comprising 24 fighters of the type was formed up on the Russian Navy's only operating aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov (Russian: Адмирал флота Советского Союза Кузнецов, originally named Tbilisi and then Leonid Brezhnev) is an aircraft carrier (heavy aircraft carrying cruiser (TAVKR) in Russian classification) serving as the flagship of the Russian Navy.

She was originally commissioned in the Soviet Navy, and was intended to be the lead ship of her class, but the only other ship of her class, Varyag, has never been commissioned and was sold to the People's Republic of China by Ukraine under the condition she would never be refitted for combat.Kuznetsov was named after the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov.While designated an aircraft carrier by the West, the design of the Admiral Kuznetsov' class implies a mission different from that of either the United States Navy's carriers or those of the Royal Navy.

The term used by her builders to describe the Russian ships is tyazholiy avianesushchiy kreyser (TAKR or TAVKR) - "heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser" - intended to support and defend strategic missile-carrying submarines, surface ships, and maritime missile-carrying aircraft of the Russian fleet. This designation allows the Soviet/Russian navy to circumvent the refusal by Turkey to let aircraft carriers pass the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

Fixed-wing aircraft on Admiral Kuznetsov are essentially constrained to air superiority operations. The carrier also carries aircraft for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations, as well as anti-ship missiles.

The limiting of aircraft to only air-to-air operations is a result of the carrier's lack of catapults. With the relatively short length of a carrier versus an airstrip, an aircraft weighted down by bombs which are much heavier than missiles; cannot gain enough velocity to get off the deck without aid. Large aircraft armed for strike mission launched from a catapult, like the F/A-18E will often make a short momentary descent.

The catapults however impart enough velocity that when combined with the aircaft's engines allow it to accelerate above its stall speed before crashing into the sea. (Unarmed or very lightly armed aircraft however are generally light enough to immediately ascend)

The ship will undergo another modernization refit, in an attempt to correct some of its many technical issues. Admiral Vladimir Masorin, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, also stated that several Su-33 fighters assigned to the aircraft carrier would return to the ship after undergoing maintenance and refits of their own.