Skywatcher
Captain
Maybe it's another one of those ocean survey ships?Looks like a Catamaran
PLA Navy news, pics and videos
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
by78
General
It most certainly is.
kwaigonegin
Colonel
ONI's made quite a good document on the modern PLAN...
Andrew Erickson's written a fairly good review of it
The document itself is here:
---
My review:
This document does quite a good job of listing the general numbers and trends of PLAN development and CCG as well, and I think this document is quite a quintessential "first read" for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with the general and current capabilities and trajectory of the PLAN.
I al
It does have some deficits in the surveillance and naval helicopter part of the document, such as getting designations wrong, ignoring some likely and logical aircraft variants.
The ranges and classifications of some missiles are a little dubious -- the document does mention for instance, that YJ-62's listed 150nm range is for an export version with domestic version likely having far longer range (400km being the oft-cited number). There is also an amusing typo where YJ-62 is listed as having 650nm effective range!
Their characterization of YJ-18 is also leaving me a little bit critical, because the rare supposed pictures we have of YJ-18 do not suggest a simple copy of 3M-54, mostly due to length/width ratio. It is more correct to say that YJ-18 likely will have a similar supersonic terminal stage like 3M-54 at what we know.
I'm also a little disappointed that this document does not seem to try to numerically project the size of the PLAN within the next few years WRT 052D construction, 055 construction, 054A construction, or even a mention of the next generation frigate. Likely such information is considered not concrete enough for including in such a report, however I think it would have been prudent for even something as cautious as "some open sources suggest at least 12 052Ds may eventually be constructed," with inclusion of 052D production rate ("1.5-2 per year") -- given how much capability is often bestowed on aegis type ships, the possible induction of all 12 052Ds by 2020 for a full 18 052C/Ds at that time is not exactly something to be dismissed in such a report.
However I do appreciate how the report acknowledges the tremendous leaps in air defence the PLAN has made in the last decade, as well as recent developments such as mass induction of platforms with TASS and VDS in the ASW realm.
It is also good in that they avoid fear mongering PLAN capabilities, although I'm sure media will (and already are) portraying it that way.
Summaries (albeit very general in scope) of PLAN exercises are also worthwhile reading.
Overall, I'm quite impressed with what ONI has come up with, even if most of the stuff are things that many of us are familiar with.
Andrew Erickson's written a fairly good review of it
The document itself is here:
---
My review:
This document does quite a good job of listing the general numbers and trends of PLAN development and CCG as well, and I think this document is quite a quintessential "first read" for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with the general and current capabilities and trajectory of the PLAN.
I al
It does have some deficits in the surveillance and naval helicopter part of the document, such as getting designations wrong, ignoring some likely and logical aircraft variants.
The ranges and classifications of some missiles are a little dubious -- the document does mention for instance, that YJ-62's listed 150nm range is for an export version with domestic version likely having far longer range (400km being the oft-cited number). There is also an amusing typo where YJ-62 is listed as having 650nm effective range!
Their characterization of YJ-18 is also leaving me a little bit critical, because the rare supposed pictures we have of YJ-18 do not suggest a simple copy of 3M-54, mostly due to length/width ratio. It is more correct to say that YJ-18 likely will have a similar supersonic terminal stage like 3M-54 at what we know.
I'm also a little disappointed that this document does not seem to try to numerically project the size of the PLAN within the next few years WRT 052D construction, 055 construction, 054A construction, or even a mention of the next generation frigate. Likely such information is considered not concrete enough for including in such a report, however I think it would have been prudent for even something as cautious as "some open sources suggest at least 12 052Ds may eventually be constructed," with inclusion of 052D production rate ("1.5-2 per year") -- given how much capability is often bestowed on aegis type ships, the possible induction of all 12 052Ds by 2020 for a full 18 052C/Ds at that time is not exactly something to be dismissed in such a report.
However I do appreciate how the report acknowledges the tremendous leaps in air defence the PLAN has made in the last decade, as well as recent developments such as mass induction of platforms with TASS and VDS in the ASW realm.
It is also good in that they avoid fear mongering PLAN capabilities, although I'm sure media will (and already are) portraying it that way.
Summaries (albeit very general in scope) of PLAN exercises are also worthwhile reading.
Overall, I'm quite impressed with what ONI has come up with, even if most of the stuff are things that many of us are familiar with.
Here are a couple of high res pictures of the charts (mostly from the ONI report):
PLAN Fleet 2015
PLAN Equipment Pictures 2015
US Navy Fleet 2015
Nice references...though you will see some of the info is lacking even on the ONI.
For example, they just list "Hull 3- Hull6" for the latest four Type 052C builds...when we know better here on SD.
PLAN Fleet 2015
PLAN Equipment Pictures 2015
US Navy Fleet 2015
Nice references...though you will see some of the info is lacking even on the ONI.
For example, they just list "Hull 3- Hull6" for the latest four Type 052C builds...when we know better here on SD.
Last edited:
Ultra
Junior Member
China's YJ-18 Missiles a ‘Major Threat’ to US Navy
03:01 15.04.2015(updated 11:52 15.04.2015)
China is outfitting new naval destroyers with their potent new anti-ship missiles, which pose serious challenges to US naval defenses.
A from the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has confirmed the Chinese government's own claims that "the newest class, the LUYANG III, destroyer is fitted with the new vertically-launched YJ-18 ASCM [anti-ship cruise missile]."
The revelations about the the YJ-18 — a latest generation supersonic ASCM — are one of the major takeaways of the ONI's overview of the developments in the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
So far there is only one Luyang III (also known as a 052D) destroyer with the proper vertical launch system (VLS) for the YJ-18 but China has said it plans to have 10 more operational by 2017.
"This missile, and its air-launched cousin, the YJ-12, are major threats to the U.S. Navy," Lyle J. Goldstein, an associate professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute at the United States Naval War College, told the New York Times. "The major increase in speed makes the missile much harder to intercept."
The ONI report also says the missile is being deployed on three classes of the PLAN's submarines: Song-, Yuan-, and Shang-classes.
The missile has been to have "a cruise range of 180 km at Mach 0.8 and a sprint range of 40 km at Mach 2.5 to 3.0"
"Everyone serious about understanding Chinese military capabilities must familiarize themselves with this missile," Andrew Erickson, associate professor at the US Naval War College in Rhode Island.
The increased speed and range of the missile, Erickson adds, "together with a sea-skimming flight profile and likely possession of a command data link based on Internet photos, could make the YJ-18 extremely difficult to defend against."
Chatter about the threat posed by the YJ-18 increased late in 2014 as a video surfaced on state-run CCTV purporting to show a test-launch of the missile.
Previously, China relied on Russia for it's missiles, and the YJ-18 is described as an indigenous version of the Russian 3M54E Klub.
Chinese Navy Modernizing and Expanding, Significantly
The ONI report — the first unclassified assessment on China since 2009 — paints a picture of a PLAN that is improving more on a qualitative basis than in terms of sheers numbers, but even so, some of the numbers — especially the build up of the Coast Guard - are noteworthy.
The PLAN currently comprises 300 surface combatants, submarines, amphibious ships, and missile-armed patrol craft. In 2014, 60 new vessels were added to the fleet, and a similar number is expected for 2015. Chinese shipyards produced more naval ships than any other country's during 2013 and 2014.
The Chinese Coast Guard — which has been referred to as "" — will have increased by 25% between 2012 and the end of 2015, faster than any other coast guard in the world, according to the report.
"Major qualitative improvements are occurring within naval aviation and the submarine force, which are increasingly capable of striking targets hundreds of miles from the Chinese mainland," the report said, concluding that overall, "it is emerging as a well equipped and competent force."
