SinoDefence Forum

Jeff Head

In an effort to revitalize this subject, which has been probably the most talked about and visited topic on the entire Sino Defence forum, I thought I would start a new thread specifically about the Varyag and its latest status.

To help, I am posting a pic that I posted on an earlier thread in November and which I still believe to be one of the latest pics of the Varyag. I believe late 2006 sometime. Looks like something close to the final coat is on the flight deck now, the non-skid surface being completely painted over. Waiting for deck markings.



If you have, or come upon, any later info, status, or pictures specifically relating to the Varyag, please post them.

tphuang

well, I got this picture today, not sure if it's a new picture or not.

Kilo636

I seriously think she is not going to be commissioned. It took awful long just to finished painting it. If PLAN have the will to make it operational,1 year will have completed that task!

Gollevainen

unfinished ship laid iddle for ten or so years with out proper maintennace, with out engines and other porpulsion gear, not mention whitout any combat or other eletronics&equipment????

No seccondhand buyer nation could have made anything out of it in ONE year timeframe. Dont be silly. They are now propaply reversing it basic structure to whitstand possiple porpulsion arragment that migth easily be something completely different that the builders blue-prints suspected. Not to mention the fact that a country that have in past never even operated any surface combat ship over 10 000 tons, not to mention of aircraft carriers nor building them.


but to Jeff Head, I wouldnt say final coat in the fligth deck, untill we can see the arresting wires and other assorted equipment that would be only usefull in aircraft operations

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Jeff Head

Another good pic showing the overall condition of the exterior improving. And there seems to be more steam or smoke coming from that rear stack than I have seen before.

I think they will commission and then use her. Too much money spent on her. Long time in dry dock, lots of work, new facilities built around her for logisitics. And yes, even though it has taken time, she now is sporting the PLAN official colors. I think they are doing a lot of work on her getting her ready...they just aren't in a hurry and aren't rushing it. doing it very carefully. doing it right.

Good points all Golle. They may well have other coats to lay down before the final deck equipment is installed...but from the looks of her, they are close.

alwaysfresh

Will there be a need to do alot of testing of systems on board out in the open water, long before any airplanes start showing up? Also I do not see any cranes over the ship, so does this mean they do not require cranes to move equipement onboard? Last what are those two blue steel column structures behind the ship?

bd popeye

Before any ship in any navy is commisioned it has builders trails and "shakedown". Builders trials are done before the ship is handed over to the navy that's buying the ship. All systems are operated. Shakedown is the same thing but done by the crew that will man the ship. All systems are checked to the maximum extent. They try to "shake" the ship apart to find any major flaws in the ships systems.

No cranes? Those shipyard cranes are very mobile. Just because you don't see them does not mean they will not be there.

Two blue columns? Some sort of crane is my guess. I'm not really sure....

By the way both of these picss have been previsouly posted in one of the carrier threads. But that's OK. We need to keep this great subject alive!

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Neutral Zone

Some more great photos! Looks like the only structural work remaining is on the island and then they'll just need to finish outfitting the hull. I'd say there's a lot of work on this programme going on far away from Dalian, somewhere in China hundreds of PLAN sailors and aviators will be getting trained as to how to operate Varyag and her airgroup. The flight deck crew training alone will be highly intensive.

It must be a really exciting time to be in PLAN as the service goes through all this change, dozens of new branches and specialist positions will need to be created from scratch to make the CV operate successfully. I hope they realise how lucky they are, being involved in the creation of a new carrier service is a once in a lifetime chance for a sailor!

bd popeye

Probally so very true. But the real traning of the ships crew will take place at sea. all the simulators in the PLAN cannot take the place of actually putting the ship to sea with real sailors to get the feel, the life, the quirks of the ship in their minds. So the ship and it's crew act as one. For a sailor nothing and I mean nothing replaces actual operational training at sea. Without at sea training the sailors of the Varyag will only be partially ready to operate the ship.

In my opinion it will take the PLAN 3-5 years to get the ship fully mission capable.

Fair winds and following seas to those PLAN sailors that will some day man the Varyag.

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Jeff Head

Amen Popeye...and spoken in wisdom and experience by a man who has "been there and done that", times over...amen, and amen!

We shall see...but if she does, I do not expect the Varyag to take to sea until just before or during the Olympic games. Maximize the exposure and the message.

adeptitus

@_@ But Beijing Olympics is next year.

I don't think the PLAN is prepping the ship for display next year. If the PRC central government is trying to downplay its military modernization (or "build-up" depending on your point of view), then floating a line of warships in a display of might is sending the wrong message.

Also, I don't believe they can get the ship into operational, or even display condition under its own power by next year. At best it might serve as static or towed display, never mind carrier based aircraft.

Jeff Head

I do not think aircraft will fly off it in any operational sense by the Olympics next year...but they could certainly do a "display" flight if they wanted. I also believe they could have her under her own power by next year, with the basic sensor and defensive weapons fit onboard if they wanted to. We're talking sixteen months.

I also do not think that the PRC show casing a single aicraft carrier will necessarily send the wrong message from their perspective. They have indicated for some time that they are very interested in it and moving in that direction. It will hardly be a great surprise. In addition, with the Koreans and the Japanese moving towards thier own carrier-like vessels, the PRC will easily be able to state for global consumption that what they are doing is not an imbalance, rather keeping the balance. Clearly, because of their other modernization and buildup, it can be viewed differently as well...but that is already happening so they are not losing any ground there.

In any case, in order to do so, by the middle of this year we will see definite preparations to that end. If by the end of the fall of this year...meaning by September 2007, the Vayrag appears in the same state it is in now, I would say that, yes, it will absolutely not be ready for sea, even in a show sense, for the 2008 Summer Olympics. We shall see.

In any case, that's just my own opinion.

alwaysfresh

When the Varyag is finished I think it will look exactly like the KUZNETSOV. It would take way too long to develop new ideas for this ship. My bet is only some whole systems could be replaced like radar. But things like inner ship software and systems that operate the ships mechanical parts will be exactly the same as the KUZNETSOV. So I am posting some pictures of the Russian KUZNETSOV. I do not have experience with Military so all this may seem obvious to you, I just thought it would also be nice to see some pictures of the Russian KUZNETSOV since the two carriers look exactly the same.

Pointblank

I think the Chinese might have weld shut those SSM doors, because they don't use the P-700 Granit SSM. Whenever or not they have removed the missile silos underneath the doors to make room for something else (i.e. turning the space into a machinery shop), is unknown.

Jeff Head

Every indication (including several of the pictures) is that the PLAN does not intend to use those large SSMs and has in fact closed them off. Whether or not they have removed the tubes and made space available below decks is yet to be seen...but given the amount of time they have had her in the yards, and if they in fact will not use those missile tubes, then I cannot imagine them letting that space go to waste.