Latest PLAN Aircraft Carrier Info & Photos

Originally Posted by Schumacher

Believe it or not, Admiral Keating offering to help PLAN get a carrier. Maybe not such a surprise after all. If they see PLAN as going to get one sooner or later, with or without their help, they might as well offer some carrier tech in return for some jobs at home & a few hundreds of millions of dollar for what is mostly 80s, 70s or even older technologies anyway.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-05-12-voa5.cfm

'...........At a lunch Friday with China's navy chief, Vice Admiral Wu Shengli, Admiral Keating stressed the difficulty and complexity of developing, building and operating an aircraft carrier. But at his news conference Saturday Keating said the United States would be willing to help if that is what China decides to do.

"It is not an area where we would want any tension to arise unnecessarily," he added. "And we would, if they choose to develop [an aircraft carrier program] help them to the degree that they seek and the degree that we're capable, in developing their programs.".........'

Whattttttt????!!!
Is this his own opioin or the current admin's position?
I doubt its the latter.
remember US still opposes EU to lift arms ban on China!

Funny... The US always has a double standard, well but it is natural.

You do what is in your best interest.... China develops on its own now you get to offer some technology to them since they do not need it. Tell everyone in the world to put trade blocks on some countries, then you allow actually allow some weapon trading to continue.

Its all about money and power. All countries act in their own interests.

Yeah their is actually a catch this time, oh we will offer you better things than the EU, so first agree to buy our stuff and then we will lift the arms block.

could this model be the finished varyag.


the model seems to have:
10 x 6 VLS HQ-9 SAM
8 x 18-barrel MRLs
4 x Type 730 CIWS


the armament stands out to be very different from her sister ship Kuznetsov.

Originally Posted by cooker

could this model be the finished varyag.
[qimg]http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4104/14132918200705311131487hj9.jpg[/qimg]

the model seems to have:
10 x 6 VLS HQ-9 SAM
8 x 18-barrel MRLs
4 x Type 730 CIWS


the armament stands out to be very different from her sister ship Kuznetsov.

No doubt that this model is the completed Varyag. That's the "small" model, but is probably the most accurate.

We had a whole thread about these model pictures. There are more too that you may find of interest including pictures of any even larger model.

HERE ON THIS THREAD

Said to be the most up to date photos of vayage, taken in May.

I hope they will start the external works...

Originally Posted by szbd

Said to be the most up to date photos of vayage, taken in May.

[qimg]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1008/529318009_71e3c84053.jpg[/qimg]

[qimg]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1161/529313943_de4e0656fc.jpg[/qimg]

WOW! Excellent szbd. The deck look pretty much complete outside of final markings and blast deflectors. The hull looks very well kept too. I will have to look in more detain later. Do you have a high res version?

Originally Posted by Jeff Head

WOW! Excellent szbd. The deck look pretty much complete outside of final markings and blast deflectors. The hull looks very well kept too. I will have to look in more detain later. Do you have a high res version?

here, seems they got the big elevator working.

To my unexperianced eye it looks like not much work done on the outside for some month.
Could it be that at first they just made the outside weather-proof and then proceeded with work inside the ship?
Or is that paint (or whatever) on the deck rather new? (I can't really see a differance to older pics, but there were not really ones taken from above.

Originally Posted by Scratch

To my unexperianced eye it looks like not much work done on the outside for some month.
Could it be that at first they just made the outside weather-proof and then proceeded with work inside the ship?
Or is that paint (or whatever) on the deck rather new? (I can't really see a differance to older pics, but there were not really ones taken from above.

If you search through the earlier pictures of the Varyag you will see the flight deck in diffrent states of work. In fact there is a picture of it from last year with yellow zinc chromate paint.

Work on a ship when is re-fit is going on all the time. Inside and out. We have to remember that this ship was given to the PLAN only about 70% complete. And considering how much time it was laying idle it is take a lot of time to ready her for the sea.

Originally Posted by cooker

here, seems they got the big elevator working.

No, the elevator has always been the lower place. But the scaffolding on the island is removed.

Originally Posted by Jeff Head

WOW! Excellent szbd. The deck look pretty much complete outside of final markings and blast deflectors. The hull looks very well kept too. I will have to look in more detain later. Do you have a high res version?

Yeah, I found the pictures here

http://bbs.cjdby.net/viewthread.php?...a=page%3D1

They are in higher resolusion. The guy who posted them said they were transfered from another forum but I failed to find the pictures there. I think these should be the same with the original ones.

In the same forum, here are some nice pictures of zubr and some even nicer pictures of Su33.

http://bbs.cjdby.net/viewthread.php?...extra=page%3D1

Originally Posted by yehe

L15 is a trainer, not exactly same as J10, which is a multirole fighter with air superiority in mind. Anyway, I dont think J10 will ever become carrier bone, maybe the twinengined version, but then it really cant be called for J10 anymore.

And Varyag is refitted for training purpose mainly, like a Sea based flight academy.

A teeny bit off-topic, I have two theories regarding Varyag. The ships is being completed at an excruxiatingly slow rate, which leads me to two conclusions:
1. The Chinese are taking their time with the development. But seriously, they've had the ship since 2001! Surely by now they have combed the ship inside out and have a plan for completion. If they can manage to lay down, build, and commision a new DDG in under 3 years, I dont see why a 70% complete vessel can't be outfitted in 6. One explanation is that they could be awaiting the availablilty of certain components (engine?). With the level of importance of such a program, funding should not be the issue.
2. Varyag is a decoy to draw attention away from another classified project. Finding a carrier under construction isn't hard, but you have to know where to look. Varyag diverts away some eyes.

Mod's note>>> dollarman, I moved your post in a attempt to revive this thread.

Dollarman, I doubt that the PLAN is using the Varyag as a decoy. They have spent way to much time and money for the ship to be a decoy. The changes that we can see in the ship over that last two years are apparent. Work on the flight deck, Island & hull. Is the work slow? Maybe yes..maybe no.. whereas we have no idea how old the pics we recieve are.

If we could ever get pictures of what's going on inside of the Varyag ethn we may be able to make a determination.