Chinese Navy (PLAN) News & Discussions

[52051]

Probably someone has already expected, according to famous military insider, pop3 or whatever name, PLAN will build huge amount of warships in the coming decade, much more than now.

 

[Team Blue]

They've been building a huge amount of warships already. Like, they've openly stated it's their goal to have a powerful navy.

 

[Arsalan]

Two new guided missile destroyers enter Chinese naval service
By Liu Xuanzun

The guided-missile destroyer Hohhot (Hull 161) attached to a destroyer flotilla with the navy under the PLA Southern Theater Command steams in waters of the South China Sea during a realistic maritime training exercise in early August, 2020. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Li Wei)

Two new and advanced guided missile destroyers have recently entered service with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, official reports show. This takes the tally of new destroyers that have been commissioned into the PLA Navy this year known to the general public up to four, which analysts said shows a strong momentum of growth for the PLA Navy amid external instability and pressure.

A destroyer unit recently conducted live-fire exercises for main gun shooting and damage control in an undisclosed sea region in celebration of the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, according to a video attached to a post on the Sina Weibo account of the PLA North China Sea Fleet last week.

The video footage shows for the first time a warship with the hull number 121, which is a Type 052D guided missile destroyer. Military observers have speculated that it is named the Qiqihar, after a city in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Chinese Navy destroyer (Hull 121) conducts exercises featuring main gun shooting and damage control in October 2020. Photo: Screenshot from Weibo post by PLA North China Sea Fleet

Another new destroyer, the Tangshan, with the hull number 122, made its debut to the general public in another report by js7tv.cn, a video news website affiliated with the PLA, in late September.

According to the report footage, the Tangshan is a Type 052DL guided missile destroyer, which is reportedly the latest variant of the Type 052D characterized by an extended helicopter flight deck and a larger anti-stealth radar. It was conducting damage control training, the report said.

Chinese Navy destroyer Tangshan (Hull 122) conducts damage control exercises in September 2020. Photo: Screenshot from js7tv.cn

The fact that they are painted with hull numbers, have engaged in training exercises and have been featured in official military media reports all indicate that these two new destroyers have likely already entered service with the PLA Navy, analysts said.

Including these two destroyers, the PLA Navy has now commissioned at least four destroyers in 2020. In January, it commissioned the Nanchang, the country's first 10,000 ton-class Type 055 destroyer, and the Zibo, the first Type 052DL variant, according to media reports.

With instability all around the world and increasing military pressure from countries like the US, China needs to develop its naval forces to safeguard its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests, a Beijing-based expert on military affairs told the Global Times on condition of anonymity on Monday.

The commissioning of four destroyers this year showed a strong momentum of growth for the PLA Navy, and more warships, including destroyers and amphibious assault ships, are expected to join military service soon, the expert said.

China currently operates about 20 modern, aegis-type destroyers, and in four to five years the number will increase to 40, including six Type 052Cs, 25 to 26 Type 052Ds and eight Type 055s, The Diplomat magazine reported in July.

China has also launched two Type 075 amphibious assault ships, the first in September 2019 and the second in April this year.

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[IblinI]

According to a well known old navy man POP3, the new wave of navy build up during the next five years will be huge.

 

[samsara]

Probably someone has already expected, according to famous military insider, pop3 or whatever name, PLAN will build huge amount of warships in the coming decade, much more than now.

According to a well known old navy man POP3, the new wave of navy build up during the next five years will be huge.

I am looking forward with my utmost enthusiasm... will be very happy to witness that mighty splash in my lifetime

My deepest heartfelt wishes for another great leap, another giant wave that is even bigger than the ones of the last 20 years!

 

[LKJ86]

Via @人民海军 from Weixin

 

[LKJ86]

 

[LKJ86]

 

[LKJ86]

Chinese Naval Ships Conduct Replenishment-at-sea in Gulf of Aden

 

[Team Blue]

I keep seeing people mention pop3. Who is that?

 

[lcloo]

I keep seeing people mention pop3. Who is that?

He is a highly respected ex-colonel from PLAN with frequent military article postings in Chinese forums.

 

[LKJ86]

 

[LKJ86]

 

[LKJ86]

 

[samsara]

I am looking forward with my utmost enthusiasm... will be very happy to witness that mighty splash in my lifetime

My deepest heartfelt wishes for another great leap, another giant wave that is even bigger than the ones of the last 20 years!

China to modernize military, arsenal in next 5 years

By Liu Xuanzun and Leng Shumei | Global Times (2020-11-02)

China's J-20 stealth fighter jet displays its new coating of stealth material and flies over the exhibition hall at Airshow China 2018 on Tuesday. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

China will develop and produce modern, advanced weapons and equipment in the upcoming five years, as the world could witness the debut of China's first long-range, stealth-capable strategic bomber, the country's third and electromagnetic catapults-equipped aircraft carrier, among other new weapons that aim to safeguard the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, Chinese military experts and analysts predicted on Monday, after China's recently released 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the Communiqué of the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) set the tone for the development of the country's national defense and armed forces.

The roadmap is in line with China's overall national strength and the urgent needs of national defense brought by the likes of hegemonies, power politics and regional instabilities in other parts of the world when China is having more development interests overseas, analysts said.

The plenary session made "making significant strides in the MODERNIZATION of national defense and armed forces in the NEXT FIVE YEARS" one of the main goals for the development of the economy and society in the 14th Five-Year Plan, and stressed that the development of the economy SHOULD GO SIDE BY SIDE with the strengthening of the military.

Among others, it is arranged in the 14th Five-Year Plan that the military should be enhanced by technologies, the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligentization should be accelerated, key and innovative fields should develop in a coordinated way, and the layout for national defense and technology industry should be optimized.
[Intelligentization 〔 智能化 〕 is the uniquely Chinese concept of applying AI’s machine speed and processing power to military planning, operational command, and decision support.]

By the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 2027, the centennial goal of military development should be achieved; by 2035, the country should achieve the modernization of the national defense and armed forces, it was announced at the plenary session.

The Shandong aircraft carrier is moored at a naval port in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

ADDITIONS TO ARSENAL

Looking back at the PAST FIVE YEARS, the Chinese military's arsenal saw many breakthroughs across all services, with many new and top-level weapons and equipment commissioned or made debuts, including the J-20 stealth fighter jet, Y-20 large transport aircraft, Z-20 utility helicopter, H-6N strategic bomber, Type 055 large destroyer, Shandong aircraft carrier, Type 15 light tank, PCL-181 truck-based howitzer, DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missile, DF-17 hypersonic missile and DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

To follow the 14th Five-Year Plan and reach the goals, China is expected to continue its momentum in the domestic development of modern weapons and equipment in addition to the military reform and scientific military exercises, analysts said.

The 14th Five Year Plan period will be a very hopeful and fruitful period for the PLA Air Force, as the long-range, stealth-capable strategic bomber will likely make its long-expected public debut, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Global Times on Monday.

China has been reportedly developing the new bomber, often dubbed the H-20, for many years, and its maker, the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), has been hinting its development since 2018.

"We have been studying on the bomber for a certain period. As we have conquered the difficulties in large aircraft production, stealth technologies and engine design and production, the time is ripe for us to roll out a new bomber," Fu predicted.

The aircraft is expected to be a fourth-generation bomber, compared to China's current H-6 bomber platform, which is only of the first generation, Fu said, noting that it will come out with world-leading design and technologies. Its STEALTH capability and RANGE will at least as good as the US' B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, Fu predicted.

In other warplane developments, Fu believes that China will start to mass-produce and improve the J-20 fighter jet, with its engines replaced with more powerful ones; drones and artificial intelligence will also see advanced developments.

In terms of the PLA Navy, Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, predicted that China's third aircraft carrier is very likely to be commissioned during the 14th Five Year Plan period.

The new carrier is expected to be much larger, and the country's first one using a flat flight deck equipped with electromagnetic catapults [EMCAT] to release aircraft, a more efficient way than the ski-jump approach used on the country's previous carriers, analysts said.

In accordance with the PLA's carrier groups construction, the construction of supporting warships for the carriers, including destroyers like Type 052D and Type 055, as well as amphibious assault and landing ships, anti-submarine warfare aircrafts, will likely continue in the next five years, Li told the Global Times on Monday.

"Overall, in the FOLLOWING 10 YEARS, the PLA Navy will develop more systematically and integrated, centering on the construction of aircraft carrier groups," Li said.

In specific, new amphibious vessels will be launched and existing destroyers and frigates, such as the Type 055 and Type 054A, will be UPGRADED [i.e. newly improved variant is coming out]. The network integration of the PLA Navy will also be improved, Li noted.

China is reportedly developing the ELECTROMAGNETIC RAILGUN, which is widely expected by analysts to be installed on an UPGRADED VERSION of the Type 055.

A type of aircraft carrier-based stealth fighter jet, rumored to be developed based on China's second type of stealth fighter jet the FC-31, could also make its debut in the coming years, along with the aircraft carrier-based early warning aircraft [AWACS] the KJ-600, observers said.

China's CENTENNIAL GOAL OF MILITARY DEVELOPMENT in 2027 aims to develop the military with the capability to defend national sovereignty, safeguard against security threats posed by the hegemony in WESTERN PACIFIC REGION and protect overseas development interests as China's overseas economic presence grows, Li said.

As the world has seen a rise in strategic competition, constant armed conflicts and regional warfare, and increasingly obvious instability and uncertainty in security, China as a rising power with huge development interests both at home and abroad requires its military to adapt to new missions, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times.

"The centennial goal is in line with national strength," Song stressed.

Zhang Yesui, spokesperson for the third session of the 13th National People's Congress, had pointed out in May that from a global perspective, the proportion of China's defense expenditure to GDP has remained at around 1.3 percent for many years, far below the world average of 2.6 percent.