Dragon's Nest: Chinese Air Force Base in Mountainous Region

Images of of the Chinese Air Force Base in Mountainous Region built by the 9th engineering corps of  Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF)

Peoples Liberation Army Air Force will operate its front-line fighter jets like J-10 and J-11 from this airbase.

Bangladesh under The Blue Helmet

Under the blue helmet (Bangladesh)

Bangladeshi contingent (BANSRIC and BANMMRLU) awarded during Combined medal pared in Sector South, UNAMID dtd 15 Oct 2012 by FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF Brig Gen Shahid Mahmud of UNAMID

Under the blue helmet (Bangladesh)

Under the blue helmet (Bangladesh)

A Glimpse of Al-Khalid MBTs: The Immortal Tank (In Service with Forces)

The Al-Khalid MBT (The Immortal Tank) is jointly developed by Pakistan and China during the 1990s, which is one of the world's most modern main battle tanks. The design is considerably smaller and lighter but this is an amazingly very effective and capable main battle tank. The design has the combination of some western and Sino-Russ technological influences. 

Pakistan & China signed a joint development deal in January 1990. First prototypes were tested in Pakistan in August 1991. The Director General of Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) Lt Gen Hamid Javaid and Major General Muhammad Asad supervised the project. The design team modified the tank to accept a foreign-built engine. A number of different prototypes were evaluated.

In light of high ambient temperatures and the fine sand or dust that would be encountered in operational areas such as the deserts of southern Pakistan, the development of high performance cooling and air filtering systems was emphasised during the planning stage of the project. Implementation of a hydro-gas suspension system was considered but, after detailed technical evaluations, it was found to be impractical due to various limitations such as problems with reliability and maintainability.

The final tank design resulting from a decade of co-operative development was designated Type 90-IIM in China & Al-Khalid in Pakistan.

A pilot batch of fifteen tanks was inducted into the 31st Cavalry Regiment of Pakistan’s Armoured Corps on 20 July 2001.

An additional batch of Al-Khalid tanks was delivered on 23 September 2004. Pakistan planned to build a total of 600 Al-Khalid tanks for its armed forces.

In 2006 a US-based market and special research organisation reported findings showing that the Al-Khalid, along with two other MBTs, would account for nearly 45% of all new MBTs built until 2015.

The Saudi Arabian Army began conducting trials of the Al-Khalid's desert performance in April 2006, after expressing interest in purchasing a batch of the tanks 2 years earlier.

Al-Khalid was revealed on 17 July 1991, by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, along with the then Pakistani Chief of Army Staff, Mirza Aslam Beg, in a ceremony held at the Heavy Rebuild Factory (HRF), Taxila. In his speech, the Prime Minister said that that the completion of the project was a big step towards self-reliance. The Army Chief said that for the first time in history, not only had technology been transferred to Pakistan, but the design was also made by Pakistani engineers themselves.

Armament

 

* Al-Khalid is designed with a 125 mm (length: 48 calibres) smoothbore, auto-frettaged and chrome-plated gun barrel which can fire the following types of conventional ammunition: APFSDS, HEAT-FS and HE-FS.

* Gun-launched, laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles can also be launched.

* Al-Khalid also fires a Pakistani DU round, the Naiza 125 mm DU round (armor penetration: 550 mm in RHA at 2 km). It is equipped with a muzzle reference system and dual-axis stabilisation system. Elevation and azimuth control is achieved by electro-hydraulic power drives. The automatic ammunition-handling system for the main gun has a 24-round ready-to-fire magazine and can load and fire at a rate of eight rounds per minute

* The tank is also equipped with a 7.62 mm-coaxial machine gun, a 12.7 mm externally-mounted air-defence machine gun that can be aimed/fired from within the tank, and smoke grenade launchers.

* A project to manufacture the first Pakistani tank gun barrel was started by Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division (SPD) in 2000. In April 2011, it was reported that the first Pakistani-produced tank gun barrel was ready to be delivered to HIT for installation on the Al-Khalid and Al-Zarrar. 

Previously, HIT imported 125 mm gun barrel blanks from France for the two tanks which would then be machined in Pakistan by HIT. The first Pakistani gun barrel blank was produced at Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC) in a joint project involving HIT, People's Steel Mills Limited (PSML) and other defence-related organisations. 

 The specialist grade steel was produced at PSML and the resulting steel block was passed on to HMC. HMC then pressed the block to a length of 5 metres and square cross-section, before forging it into a 125 mm smoothbore barrel. The barrel was then heat treated several times in facilities such as a large vertical furnace. The process took 2–3 months and was watched by experts from other defence-related organisations. 

 The barrel was to be capable of firing at 4 rounds per minute as well as being compatible with the autoloader and its 24 round magazine. According to a HIT official, a joint team proved to the Pakistan Army that strict standards would be met before the army approved production of a first batch of 50 gun barrels by HMC. 

The Pakistani gun barrels would likely be installed on upgraded versions of the Al-Khalid which are under development by HIT. A Rs200 million PKR contract has been finalised by HIT for the first 50 barrel batch.

Systems & Sensors

* The gunner is provided with a dual-magnification day sight and the commander with a panoramic sight for all-around independent surveillance. Both sights are dual-axis image stabilised and have independent laser range-finders. The tank has true hunter-killer capability, giving the commander the ability to acquire new targets independently while the gunner is engaging another target. The automatic target-tracking system is designed to work when tank and target are both moving. Night vision for the gunner and commander is achieved through a dual-magnification thermal imaging sight. Both sights are integrated with the fire-control system. The production Al-Khalid tank has a fire-control system of western origin. The ballistic computation time is less than one second. The manufacturer claims routine first round hits on standard 8 ft (2.4 m) square targets at ranges over 2,000 meters.

Targeting Range & Accuracy

• Effective range: 200 to 7,000 metres
• Sensor: laser ranging from 200 to 9,990 metres
• French Auto-tracking, interfaced with gunner station, firing four types of munitions, gunner's thermal imaging sight, commander's image intensification night vision sight, gyro-stabilised and UPS power supply system.

* Although prototypes were demonstrated with various fire-control systems of Chinese and western origin, the production model Al-Khalid MBTs use a Western fire-control system (FCS) and gun control system (GCS).

* The tank is equipped with the "Integrated Battlefield Management System" (IBMS), named 'Rehbar', a digital communications system developed domestically by HIT and CARE (Centre for Advanced Research in Engineering). It comprises a flat-screen display mounted inside the tank which communicates with those of other vehicles, including command posts such as the HIT Sakb. It uses a data-link to facilitate secure communication of battlefield information between units, including tank video footage and information from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

 

Design and protection

The Al Khalid layout is conventional, with the driver’s compartment at the front, turret in the centre and the power pack at the rear. The turret and hull are of all-welded steel armour construction and an additional layer of composite armour has been added over the frontal arc, to which explosive reactive armour (ERA) can be added if required. Al-Khalid has modular composite armour and explosive reactive armour, nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) defences, an effective thermal smoke generator, internal fire extinguisher and explosion-suppression system. 

 

Propulsion

The production model Al-Khalid is powered by a 6TD-2 liquid-cooled diesel engine, designed by the Kharkiv Morozov Design Bureau (KMDB) of Ukraine. The 6TD-2 is a supercharged 6-cylinder engine delivering 1,200 horsepower (890 kW). The 2-stroke design, with the pistons arranged horizontally in an opposed piston configuration, makes the engine very compact and therefore more suitable for being fitted into relatively small vehicles such as the Al-Khalid MBT.



The 6TD-2 engine drives a French-designed hydro-mechanical automatic transmission, the SESM ESM500, which is also fitted to the Leclerc MBT. Capable of manual and fully automatic power-shifting, the transmission has 5 forward and 2 reverse speeds along with a braking system that incorporates carbon friction brakes and a secondary speed-retarding system. Gear shifts are controlled by a torque converter which is made more efficient by addition of an automatic lock-up clutch. There is also a mechanical back-up system for use in emergencies, able to shift 2 gears forward and reverse^.
The Al-Khalid is fairly lightweight as compared to the Western tanks, weighing 46 tonnes compared to the 60 tonne M1 Abrams and Leopard 2. A power-to-weight ratio of 26.66 hp/tonne gives acceleration from 0 to 32 km/h (0 to 20 mph) in 10 seconds and a maximum speed of 70 km/h, the speed and agility also helping to improve survivability.

 

Accessories 

The standard version of the Al-Khalid is equipped with a snorkel. The snorkel system allows the tank to cross water obstacles up to 5 meters deep, after some preparation by the crew. Navigation is assisted by an inertial navigation system (INS) and a GPS satellite navigation system.

 

Protection

Al-Khalid has modular composite armour and explosive reactive armour, nuclear-biological-chemical defences, an effective thermal smoke generator, internal fire extinguisher and explosion-suppression system. The infrared signature of the tank is reduced by infra-red reflective paint. Al-Khalid 1 is equipped with a newly developed indigenous explosive reactive armour, which is not only lightweight, but also more resistant to APFSDS, HEAT and HE-FS rounds. ERA is developed by Global Industrial Defence Solutions (GIDS) Corporation. Al-Khalid is also equipped with an Active protection system known as VARTA. HIT is also working on an indigenous APS system for future batches especially for Al-Khalid 2. In tests it has 350mm~450mm vs APFSDS and 450mm~550mm vs HEAT.
An advanced laser detection system from Al Technique Corporation (ATCOP) is present, the ATCOP LTS 1 laser threat warning system developed by Institute of Industrial Control Systems. LTS 1 consists of a mast-mounted sensor and operator's control box, which includes a display showing threats 360 degrees around the tank. It can detect laser rangefinders and laser target designators and responds automatically by triggering acoustic alarms, smoke generators and other countermeasure systems. LTS 1 can detect laser devices operating in the 0.8 to 1.06 µm waveband, has a 360° field of view in azimuth (resolution of 15°) and a field of view in elevation of -15° to +90°. Operating voltage is 12V or 24V DC nominal with power consumption being 8 W nominal. The sensor head is 165 mm in diameter and 35 mm high while the control box is 80 x 130 x 55 mm in size. Laser Threat Sensor LTS786P is an early warning device which gives audio and visual alarms of threat by sensing a laser beam aimed at it from any direction. The exact location of the threat (incoming beam) is indicated by nine LEDs, covering all directions above horizon. It has the capability to differentiate between a Laser Range Finder, Laser Target Designator or a Laser Target Tracker Signal. In addition, provision of sensor output signal, interfacing for appropriate countermeasures, is also available. It can be used on stationary or moving objects of any size or shape. The maximum operating range is 10 km.

ATCOP LTS786P Technical Specifications

• Response: Enhanced for Nd:YAG Laser Signal
• Range: >10,000 m
• Field of view: Capable of detecting any signal aimed towards LTS786P.
• Detector type: Silicon Photodiode
• Size (approx): 214 x 134 mm (sensor Head)
• 126 x 123 x 100 mm (Display Unit)
• Weight 2 kg (sensor Head), (Approx): 1 kg (Display Unit)

Boeing unveils updated F/A-XX sixth-gen fighter concept

Boeing is unveiling an updated version of its F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter concept at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition in Washington DC this week. 

The tail-less twin-engine stealth fighter design comes in "manned and unmanned options as possibilities per the US Navy," Boeing says. The design features diverterless supersonic inlets reminiscent of those found on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Boeing sixth-gen fighter concept

The Boeing concept also features canards, which is somewhat of a surprise because the motion of those forward mounted control surfaces is generally assumed to compromise a stealth aircraft's frontal radar cross-section. But the lack of vertical tail surfaces suggests the aircraft would be optimized for all-aspect broadband stealth, which would be needed for operations in the most challenging anti-access/area denial environments.

Also of note in the manned version of the company's F/A-XX concept is the placement of the cockpit-rearward visibility appears to be restricted without the aid of a sensor apparatus similar to the F-35's distributed aperture system of six infrared cameras.

The Boeing F/A-XX concept is a response to a USN request for information (RFI) from April 2012 soliciting data for a replacement for the service's Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler fleets in the 2030s. The Super Hornet fleet is expected to start reaching the end of the jet's 9000h useful lifespan during that time period. 

"The intent of this research is to solicit industry inputs on candidate solutions for CVN [nuclear-powered aircraft carrier] based aircraft to provide air supremacy with a multi-role strike capability in an anti-access/area denied (A2AD) operational environment," the navy RFI stated. "Primary missions include, but are not limited to, air warfare (AW), strike warfare (STW), surface warfare (SUW), and close air support (CAS)."

Navy leaders had said at the time that they expect any new F/A-XX design to have greatly increased range and offer far superior kinematic performance compared to existing tactical aircraft.

USAF leader confirms manned decision for new bomber

The US Air Force has confirmed for the first time that the Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B) will be manned on entry-into-service, one of a few new details revealed about the classified programme. 

Several military experts have predicted the LRS-B programme would eventually become optionally-manned but enter service with a flight crew or a pilot, but the USAF has never revealed such details publicly.

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley said today at a Defense Writers Group breakfast that the service will initially field the new stealth bomber as manned aircraft. "It's likely that we'll start the bomber programme as a manned programme," Donley says. "It'll have the option to be unmanned at some point and so I think that option will be protected."

Boeing

The USAF is still some distance away from awarding a contract for the new aircraft, but Donley there have been no major changes in design or requirements since the programme was launched. "We're still a year or two away from those, what I would call a downselect decision," Donley says. 

The USAF still hopes to build anywhere from 80 to 100 LRS-B aircraft which would become operational in the mid-2020s. "Cost is a major factor for us," Donley says.

Donley says he is not yet sure when the service will disclose more about the Pentagon's acquisitions strategy for the LRS-B, but he did say contract details are under review. "We are developing a contract strategy at the air force and AT&L [acquisitions, technology and logistics], that work is ongoing," he says.

"We're going to protect the capabilities of this airplane," Donley says. "I think several years down the road [we might disclose more details] because we think the capabilities that it will have represent advantages not unlike those that we have enjoyed with the [Northrop Grumman] B-2."

When the B-2 was new in the early 1990s, that aircraft represented a revolutionary leap in capability for strategic bombers. Even now, nearly two decades after the bat-winged aircraft was declared operational, the USAF is still tight lipped about the stealth bomber's exact performance and capabilities. 

"We have not talked about B-2 capabilities in great depth, we did not reveal the existence of the B-2 programme until it rolled out of the hangar," Donley says. "We're years from that."

Source: flightglobal

First Salvo Launch of Russian-Indian Cruise Missiles From Ship Successful

February 6 (RIA Novosti) – The first ever test launch of an advanced Russian-Indian Brahmos supersonic cruise missile from a warship in salvo mode took place earlier this year and was successful, a Brahmos Aerospace spokesman said Thursday. 

The Trikand missile frigate (archive)

Two missiles were launched within an interval of several seconds, the spokesman told RIA Novosti on the sidelines of the DefExpo-2014 exhibition in New Delhi.

The target was destroyed, the spokesman said.

India’s PTI news agency cited a Defence Research and Development Organization official as saying that the launch took place from the Russian-built INS Trikand warship in the Arabian Sea.

Russian-Indian Brahmos supersonic cruise missile

According to PTI, eight cruise missiles could be fired in salvo mode in future.

The Brahmos missile has a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles) and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). It can effectively engage targets from an altitude as low as 10 meters (30 feet) and has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the US-made subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.

The Russian-Indian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

Sea- and ground-launched versions have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian army and navy.

Russia and India have also agreed to develop a hypersonic Brahmos 2 missile capable of flying at speeds of Mach 5 to Mach 7.

Turkey Dumps Israeli UAVs for Local Drones - Which Keep Crashing

Turkey has grounded UAVs it bought from Israel, replacing them with a homegrown version - which keeps crashing.

In an attempt to bolster its leadership role in the Arab world, Turkey has recently done almost everything it could to alienate Israel, to the extent that neither currently has an ambassador in the other's country. Turkey also decided to cut off all government-based business deals with Israel – ending a formerly substantial trade in military equipment, including, according to Defense News, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); according to the publication, Turkey purchased 10 Heron UAVs from Israel Aircraft Industries in 2010. No more such purchases are likely.

But as relations continued to worsen with Israel – and as Turkey decided that the time was ripe for it to take a regional leadership role – Ankara has decided to produce as many of its own weapons as possible, including UAVs. So Turkey, according to Defense News, made a strategic decision to ground its Israeli UAVs and produce its own version of the pilotless patrol planes. And following the government's directive, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) promptly designed and produced a home-grown Turkish UAV – the Anka, which the government hoped would fulfill Turkey's needs for UAVs; perhaps Ankara would even be able to develop an industry around the craft.

Only one problem, though; so far, every prototype Anka that TAI has produced has crashed.

On paper, the Anka is impressive. It was envisioned as a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) aircraft, capable of carrying more than 200 kilos for a full day, at an altitude of up to 30,000 feet. But in the field, the Ankas are pretty useless, Defense News says. The first test version, produced last December, flew for 14 minutes before falling from the sky. Subsequent versions have shown slight improvement, and in May, the Anka managed to stay aloft for 90 minutes before smashing to smithereens, and the third prototype, flown in September, flew for nearly two hours before crashing.

The problem, apparently, is an engineering one. Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News quoted a Turkish analyst as saying that wind shear was upsetting the balance of the plane's wings on landing. As the plane's dual landing gears are too close to each other, the plane tends to tip over as it lands, and the landing takes place on one of the wings – guaranteeing a crash. A government official acknowledged the problem, saying “we will definitely resolve this problem and definitely make the Anka operable. In the future, the Anka definitely will become the most useful asset in fighting terrorism.”

IAI Heron

However, the Anka may not have much of a future. At a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with U.S. President Barack H. Obama, who promised to supply Turkey with advanced Predator drones - the MQ-1 Predator used for surveillance, and the MQ-9 Reaper, use for attacks. Both are in extensive use in Iraq, and Turkey has sought to purchase them for several years. Hurriyet reports that the number of drones to be sold to Turkey is not known, but they are likely to be “used,” being sent over from Iraq as the United States continues to withdraw troops.

While the Predator deal will satisfy Turkey's needs for drones, it will crimp the new regional superpower's style – since use of the drones will be limited to conditions that the U.S. sets down, which means that Turkey will likely be unable to use them to attack Kurdish rebels, for which most of its weaponry has been deployed recently. In addition, the drones are likely to be based at the U.S. military base in Incirlik, further limiting the freedom with which Turkey can deploy the drones. And while there are no such conditions on Turkey's IAI Herons, Ankara is determined not to use them, if at all possible – in order to distance itself from Israel. As a result, Turkey has no choice but to keep pouring money into is Anka program, officials said – and one way or another, they said, they were determined to succeed.

Kalashnikov Concern Estimates Operating Loss of $50M in 2013

MOSCOW, February 7 (RIA Novosti) – The operating loss of Russia’s Kalashnikov gun maker last year is estimated at about 1.7 billion rubles ($50 million), the company’s newly appointed general director said Friday.

Alexei Krivoruchko

“According to preliminary estimates, the losses incurred in 2013 will reach 1.7 billion rubles,” Alexei Krivoruchko said.

Krivoruchko, who had earlier acquired a 49 percent stake in Kalashikov Concern, took over the helm of the famed small arms maker on January 31.

A savvy businessman and a skillful manager, Krivoruchko faces a daunting task of making Kalashnikov a profitable and efficient company to become a major supplier of Russian weaponry abroad by 2020.

He told reporters Friday that the company would focus on reducing production costs and increasing sales through streamlining the manufacturing process and aggressive global marketing.

He also said Kalashnikov Concern, which was formed last year through the merger of the Izhmash arms factory and several other defense plants, currently has a “dismal” worker-to-management ratio that affects the efficiency of its operation.

Kalashnikov Concern Estimates Operating Loss of $50M in 2013

“We currently have only 26 percent of the personnel actively involved in production, it is very wrong, the management bloat is overwhelming,” Krivoruchko said.

According to Krivoruchko, the company has already started taking concrete steps to tackle the current crisis.

Kalashnikov signed in January a contract with a US firm to sell up to 200,000 firearms annually to customers in the United States and Canada. The company is also in talks with several Indian firms to set up joint ventures to produce small arms.

As part of its promotional strategy, Kalashikov could hire Hollywood tough guy and martial arts guru Steven Seagal as an international ambassador for Kalashnikov-made weaponry, according to the state-owned Rostech corporation, which owns a 51 percent stake in Kalashnikov Concern.

Why Pakistan

The changing international security milieu has brought governments and militaries closer together to share their ideas and plans to meet their requirements to maintain regional and global peace.

The fluid geopolitical climate resulting from the rapid changes in the global security situation in recent years has forced many governments to take a fresh look at their national security mechanisms. In a bid to effectively meet the training & simulation, arms ammunition, internal security equipment, land based platforms, army participation in homeland security, military vehicles, aircraft drones UAV new challenges posed by the transformed regional and global security dynamics, many countries have started to make sizable budgetary allocations for modernization and up gradation programmers of their armed forces. At present, structural and technological improvements dominate the planning of most military and law enforcement agencies of the world. 

The most volatile geopolitical regions in Asia, have now become the largest markets for defence products. The changing international security milieu has brought governments and militaries closer together to share their ideas and plans to meet their requirements to maintain regional and global peace. To cope with the challenges in an economically affordable manner, outsourcing, joint ventures and technological collaborations play a significant role.

Pakistan’s ever growing defence industry is in quest for seeking international alliances to meet the requirements of its armed forces and growing needs of the regional defence forces. Pakistan’s own defence products present a perfect mix of indigenous and foreign technologies thus offering an ideal platform for defence collaboration. 

The International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS), showcases a wide variety of technology, ranging from equipment used in the third world countries to the most sophisticated systems from the West. Besides, it also presents an ideal opportunity to the defence manufacturers for entering into collaboration and joint ventures with Pakistan or other prospective international partners.

The Master 'PLAN': China's New Guided Missile Destroyer

China’s navy appears on the verge of creating a new class of warship. It could eventually alter the balance of naval power in the region.

Chinese Type 052D Luyang II Guided Missile Destroyer

We are loyal followers of baseball philosopher Yogi Berra, who reportedly proclaimed that “it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Like the great Yogi, we seldom venture prophecies. But we did hazard one in The Diplomat late in 2010, namely that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) would defy those Western experts who opined that Beijing had slowed or halted its naval buildup.

For evidence, such experts claimed that the PLAN had stopped building guided-missile destroyers, or DDGs. If so, Beijing had made a conscious choice to limit its navy’s offensive punch. Not so, said we. Having experimented with various DDG designs, the PLAN was simply settling on a model that incorporated the best of each test platform. And indeed, DDG serial production has recommenced in earnest, judging from pictures of the new Type 052D Luyang II-class DDG that have surfaced on the Internet.

Until recently it was fashionable for Western PLA-watchers to contend that Chinese shipyards had slowed or stopped construction of major surface warships like DDGs in favor of smaller, shorter-range, seemingly more defensive-minded vessels like guided-missile frigates and fast-attack boats. They cited the dearth of clear-cut proof of DDG-building since 2005 as evidence of this supposed trend. From this they inferred that Chinese naval development had taken a less menacing turn.

This was counterintuitive at best. And indeed, a series of photos on Chinese and Western military websites over the past few years dispels such sanguine prognoses. The images indicate that Chinese shipyards had already resumed DDG construction by 2010, when we essayed our prediction about Chinese shipbuilding.

The latest reports suggest that Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai launched its sixth Type 052C DDG and is laying down an average of two hulls per year. The new combatant under construction within a nearby hangar appears to be the Type 052D, the 052C’s successor. Indeed, a well-known China-watcher confirms that one of the new vessels was launched last week. By no means does this mean the ship is ready for sea. An enormous amount of work doubtless remains to be done on it alongside the pier, per shipyards’ usual practice. Still, putting the first of its kind in the water represents an important milestone toward sending a new ship class to sea.

The PLAN may have found its premier surface combatant.

According to the Taipei Times, this shadowy new vessel is an improved variant of the Type 052C, itself a man-of-war touted by Chinese naval enthusiasts as “China Aegis,” an equal to state-of-the-art U.S. Navy vessels. (We remain unconvinced by these claims.) The Type 052D is a stealthy, 6,000-ton, gas-turbine-driven ship boasting 64 vertical launch cells (VLS in Western parlance). A VLS cell is essentially a canister embedded in a ship’s hull. Each can disgorge one to four missiles, depending on the missile load. VLS allows for quick firing of anti-air, anti-ship, or land-attack missiles without the bother, delay, and technical headaches associated with uploading munitions onto launchers from magazines deep within the ship.

On paper, at least, the Type 052D appears to be a more modest version of the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class DDGs and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers. The PLAN DDG displaces less than the American vessels, which displace 11,000 tons and 9,600 tons respectively. This indicates that it has smaller fuel capacity and thus shorter cruising range. On the other hand,its dimensions are more than adequate for the types of regional missions it will likely be assigned in the “near seas” or the Indian Ocean. Its armament is smaller than that of the Burkes or Ticonderogas, which carry 96 and 122 VLS cells, respectively. But again, this Chinese destroyer packs a punch for localized conflicts in Asian waters. It will also operate under shore fire support in most cases, evening the firepower balance.

Since commencing its naval buildup in earnest in the late 1990s, Beijing has taken an eminently sensible approach to fleet development. So long as China’s strategic surroundings remained hospitable and the United States was content guaranteeing safe passage through international waters and skies, the PLAN could pursue leisurely “fleet experimentation.” Shipwrights built small classes of ships, kept the best features of each, and discarded the rest. This risk-averse approach made technological sense while the Chinese were attempting a qualitative leap in naval engineering.

The Chinese surface fleet, which consists of five relatively new destroyer classes of no more than two hulls apiece, bears out this go-slow approach. These ships need not remain close to home. The PLAN can extract real value from them, dispatching experimental vessels to distant waters to fine-tune crews’ skills, develop doctrine, and smooth out technical kinks. It has doubtlessly done so during counter-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean.

Ultimately, however, the PLAN had to settle on a single design for mass production. The timing appears auspicious for drawing this phase of Chinese fleet experimentation to a close. The PLAN’s first aircraft carrier, the refitted Soviet-built flattop Varyag, has undergone a series of sea trials. Recent reports indicate that the PLAN has been flight testing the J-15, a reverse-engineered derivative of the Russian Su-33 fighter plane that can operate from the Varyag’s decks. The chief element missing from an initial PLAN carrier group is a versatile picket ship to defend the capital ship against air and missile threats. The Type 052D could be it.

Admittedly,a new DDG will only complete the strictly material dimension of China’s carrier ambitions. Forming a Chinese carrier battle group on par with its American counterparts will remain a formidable challenge.Chinese planners will need to combine the carrier, its air wing, surface combatants, and possibly a nuclear attack submarine screen into a seamless, mutually supporting team.This is no easy feat.

But the destroyer’s usefulness will not hinge entirely on the fate of China’s carrier program. These are workhorse ships. A multirole DDG could be put to many other uses while the PLAN methodically masters the art of carrier operations. Notably, the Type 052D could join a surface action group (SAG) or amphibious task force to support and defend high-value ships other than carriers. It could also act as the centerpiece of such a group depending on the mission.

And it could do so throughout broad sea areas. Over the past five years numerous surface action groups, numbering up to eleven ships, have transited the international straits separating the Ryukyu island chain to reach the open Western Pacific. Four such groups voyaged to the high seas in the first six months of 2012 alone. Such naval activism strongly suggests that the surface action group will be a key organizing principle around which surface combatants will be deployed, with the Type 052D leading the way.

What will they do? Specifically, improved Luyangs could fend off air attacks against China’s Soviet-built Sovremenny-class destroyers, which specialize in ship-killing engagements. They could also accompany the small but growing numbers of amphibious assault ships Beijing has constructed to project power ashore. Such expeditionary strike groups easily outmatch those deployed by Southeast Asian navies. They would be particularly well-suited to seize islands in the South China Sea. The Type 052D, furthermore, could extend its protective air-defense umbrella over the nimble and stealthy Type 022 Houbei catamarans. These craft belie their diminutive size,sporting long-range anti-ship cruise missiles that allow them to assert or deny control of the seas vis-à-vis superior fleets.

In a Taiwan contingency, moreover, cutting-edge DDGs would offer Beijing a sea-based air-defense option that would further threaten the survivability of the embattled Taiwan Air Force.With its long detection and engagement horizon, a single Type 052D could cover wide swathes of airspace near or over the island, beyond the effective firingrange of shore-based surface-to-air missile units emplaced on the Chinese mainland. Type 052Ds cruising east of Taiwan could in effect surround the island’s air defenders, mounting a threat from all points of the compass when pilots take to the air.

Finally, the PLAN could dispatch such imposing frontline warships overseas, showcasing China’s military prowess to foreign audiences while advancing naval diplomacy. The bottom line is that more—and more capable—large-displacement destroyers will allow China to imaginatively combine different elements of its naval power for a wider range of missions.

In closing, it is worth speculating whether the regional naval balance of power will shift as a result of China’s DDG buildup. The short answer: yes. A casual calculation based on the IISS Military Balance is telling. If the PLAN puts ten Type 052Ds to sea, as the Taipei Times forecasts, then China will boast a fleet of six teen Aegis-equivalent warships—even in the unlikely case that it builds no more combatant ships of this type. By comparison, Japan and South Korea, the only Asian powers with similar naval heavyweights in their inventories,currently possess six and three Aegis-equipped destroyers, respectively.

On paper, at least, this officially makes China’s the leading indigenous Asian navy. Once the 052D contingent joins the fleet, the PLAN can expect to take on any regional fleet—excluding the U.S. Navy, of course—with better-than-average prospects of success. It will command a 16:6 advantage over the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, 16:3 over the South Korean Navy, and 16:9 over the combined Japanese and South Korean fleets. That’s significant.

Will the prospect of a tilt in China’s favor spur a new round of naval construction across the region in the coming years? Much depends on the United States’ staying power in the region, and on Asian countries’ capacity and willingness to bear the costs of an arms race. Now that the debate about the PLAN’s supposed building pause is over, it is time to ponder this troubling prospect.

U.S. Air Force moving two B-2 stealth strategic bombers closer to China

In November 2012, the U.S. Air Forced announced a series of worldwide training deployments to to each of the US combatant command’s areas of responsibility of the stealthy B-2 Spirit bombers.

The “World Spirit Tour”, as the deployment was dubbed by the Air Force Magazine, will bring the first two radar evading planes from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to the Pacific theater.

Destination: Andersen Air Force Base.

Strategically located 1,800 miles (about 2,900 km) to the east of China, Andersen has hosted a deployed strategic bomber force since 2004.

Even if the B-52s and B-1s are regularly deployed there, the B-2s were pulled out ot the rotations to Guam in 2010 (when up to six Spirits were temporary stationed there), after a serious engine fire earlier that year and the loss of another example in a 2008 crash.

With the deployment of the Spirit bombers once again to the Pacific atoll and, probably in the near future, in Australia, where the Air Force has announced “future rotational deployments” of its batwing bombers, the U.S. reaffirms the focus on a region where China’s military power is causing concern to Washington and its local allies, some of those dealing with territorial disputes.

Image source: U.S. Air Force

Although they have proved to be able to conduct no-stop round trip strike missions from Whiteman AFB during the Allied Force in Kosovo in 1999 and, more recently, in Libya, during the 2011′s Air War, the Spirit stealth bombers must be able to operate from forward operating bases across the world.

First of all in the Asia-Pacific region, and then in Central and South America, Southwest Asia, and Europe, where there are no permanently assiged bombers.

It must be remembered that the B-2 is the only platform capable to deliver the Massive Ordnance Penetrator 30,000lb bomb. Capable to destroy bunkers in Syria, Iran. Or North Korea, not far from Guam either…