China's Defense/Military Breaking News Thread

3 days ago, ... ... unbeknownst to most of the world, China initiated a test flight lasting 24 hours. The object gaining flight was the 75 meters long, 22 meters high “Yuanmeng”, an airship taking up the volume of 18,000 cubic meters. It is solar powered, and the test was successful when the airship edged toward near space, a region of the earth’s atmosphere that exists between 20km and 100km in altitude.

... ... The Yuanmeng is capable of carrying a payload of up to 7 tons that includes sensors, cameras, and other equipment, all of which will be solar powered thanks to sun-soaking solar panels installed on the top of the airship.

The Yuanmeng also holds considerable advantages over the JLENS (Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System), an American airship that is currently residing near Washington D.C. and can be used for similar missions like the Yuanmeng. For starters, the JLENS is tethered to the ground while the Yuanmeng could freely take a stroll in the skies, ... ...

... ... earth’s atmosphere between 20km to 100km poses a tricky problem, not only for the height and the air density in the zone but due to thermal expansion. Yu Quan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering points out the problem:

“The biggest challenge for the near-space airship is the big temperature difference in the day and night.”... ...

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Miragedriver said:

Russia, China agree on $2bn deal for 24 Su-35 warplanes

MOSCOW: Russia and China have agreed on the sale of 24 advanced Sukhoi Su-35 fighters to Beijing, the Russian state holding Rostec said on Thursday.

The deal – which military experts say could be worth more than $2 billion – represents the first time a foreign state has purchased the Su-35.

A representative of Rostec, speaking to AFP, confirmed a deal had been reached but declined to give details on the price and timeframe for delivery.

Moscow and Beijing have reportedly been in talks about the sale for three years, with Chinese media reporting in 2013 that the country had agreed to their purchase.

Vasily Kashin, an expert at the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a leading military and security think tank in Moscow, estimated the deal to be worth more than $2 billion.

“It was the expected amount,” he told AFP.

Moscow and Beijing, which were rivals during the Cold War, have strengthened cooperation in recent years to counterbalance perceived dominance by the United States.

The sale will also help fill Russia’s state coffers as its economy has been reeling from low oil prices and Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis.

Rostec head Sergei Chemezov told Russian media earlier this month that Moscow was in talks with the United Arab Emirates for the sale of Su-35s.

On its website, Sukhoi describes the Su-35 as an upgraded “fourth-generation” multirole fighter, which first flew as an experimental model in 2007, capable of delivering eight tonnes of ordnance.

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Back to bottling my Grenache

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kwaigonegin said:

LOL, you have been away for too long mi amigo.

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Hendrik_2000 said:

China moves a big step closer to ‘Star Wars’ laser weapons

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For years the bottleneck technology in developing laser weapon is the power requirement. With this new invention the way is clear for practical laser weapon. China might just win the race to develop laser weapon. It truly milestone with it Let see if this will come to fruition in the coming years. It surely beat the stereotype that China can't invent but only good at copying. Wait for star war zapper come near you

Mainland scientists claim they have developed the world’s most powerful supercapacitor, which could lead to advanced ‘Star Wars-type’ laser weapons.
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 22 December, 2015, 9:40pm UPDATED : Wednesday, 23 December, 2015, 11:41am

Stephen Chen [email protected]
A new laser cannon, which has been developed by Chinese scientists. Photo: SCMP Pictures


Mainland scientists are developing the world’s most powerful supercapacitor that could make Star Wars weapons a reality.

Prototypes of directed-energy weapons such as laser cannons and railguns have been developed in many countries, but few have made it out of their laboratories due to their size and weight.
If the new technology really works and wins a nod from military, a Star Wars weapon may not be very far from us
Zhu Heyuan

The Boeing YAL-1 airborne laser test-bed system had to be mounted on a 400-tonne Boeing 747 simply to kill a small drone. The project was cancelled in 2012.

Laser scientists say it is not their fault. After decades of effort, the actual laser weapon has been reduced to the size of a suitcase. But the enormous power supply needed to supply has remained prohibitively large.

The type of storage devices that can provide very large bursts of energy in a short time are called capacitors. Smaller versions are used widely, from starter motors of vehicles to medical implants.

Large, or supercapacitors have been used in lasers and other forms of electrically powered weapons as to store energy and boost power. Traditionally, such capacitors have been heavy and bulky – some are bigger than shipping containers.

Now, a research team from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences led by professor Huang Fuqiang has reported a breakthrough in capacitor technology. In a paper published in the latest issue of the journal Science, they describe how the power density of their supercapacitor can reach 26 kilowatts per kilogram, or 130 times that of lithium-ion batteries.

The Yal-1 laser cannon required a power output of one megawatt. A capacitor required to meet that power demand, using conventional technology, would weigh more than 10 tonnes. Huang’s team’s new supercapacitor, in theory, would weigh 40kg.
READ MORE: Lethal laser weapon deployed on USS Ponce in Persian Gulf

“A significant weight loss in the power unit can reduce the overall mass of a laser system. It can extend the application of laser weapon to fighter jets or even spacecraft,” said professor Zhu Heyuan, an expert of laser technology at Fudan University in Shanghai, who was not involved in the research.

“If the new technology really works and wins a nod from military, a Star Wars weapon may not be very far from us.”

A remaining problem for capacitors is their very low energy-storage capacity, which means their high power output might not last long enough to inflict fatal damage on an enemy target.

Huang’s supercapacitor broke the traditional limits of ordinary capacitors with an ability to store 41 watt-hours of electricity per kilogram. Though lower than a lithium battery, it was equivalent to lead-acid cell batteries used in cars today. It was the first time that a capacitor could store as much energy as a mainstream battery.

The higher new energy storage capacity opens up new application in other advanced weapons.

Recent years have seen rapid advances in electrically powered weapons for naval and army use. Rail guns, for instance, used electromagnetic force to accelerate projectiles at 10 times the speed of sound to hit long-distance targets, penetrate thick tank armour and intercept incoming missiles.

These new weapons, like the laser cannon, were too big and heavy to be mounted on most aircraft. The world’s most powerful rail gun, which can deliver 32 megajoules of kinetic energy, was tested by the US navy because the warship could bear the weight of its power supply unit.

Click to expand...

Hendrik_2000 said:

China moves a big step closer to ‘Star Wars’ laser weapons

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

For years the bottleneck technology in developing laser weapon is the power requirement. With this new invention the way is clear for practical laser weapon. China might just win the race to develop laser weapon. It truly milestone with it Let see if this will come to fruition in the coming years. It surely beat the stereotype that China can't invent but only good at copying. Wait for star war zapper come near you

Mainland scientists claim they have developed the world’s most powerful supercapacitor, which could lead to advanced ‘Star Wars-type’ laser weapons.
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 22 December, 2015, 9:40pm UPDATED : Wednesday, 23 December, 2015, 11:41am

Stephen Chen [email protected]
A new laser cannon, which has been developed by Chinese scientists. Photo: SCMP Pictures


Mainland scientists are developing the world’s most powerful supercapacitor that could make Star Wars weapons a reality.

Prototypes of directed-energy weapons such as laser cannons and railguns have been developed in many countries, but few have made it out of their laboratories due to their size and weight.
If the new technology really works and wins a nod from military, a Star Wars weapon may not be very far from us
Zhu Heyuan

The Boeing YAL-1 airborne laser test-bed system had to be mounted on a 400-tonne Boeing 747 simply to kill a small drone. The project was cancelled in 2012.

Laser scientists say it is not their fault. After decades of effort, the actual laser weapon has been reduced to the size of a suitcase. But the enormous power supply needed to supply has remained prohibitively large.

The type of storage devices that can provide very large bursts of energy in a short time are called capacitors. Smaller versions are used widely, from starter motors of vehicles to medical implants.

Large, or supercapacitors have been used in lasers and other forms of electrically powered weapons as to store energy and boost power. Traditionally, such capacitors have been heavy and bulky – some are bigger than shipping containers.

Now, a research team from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences led by professor Huang Fuqiang has reported a breakthrough in capacitor technology. In a paper published in the latest issue of the journal Science, they describe how the power density of their supercapacitor can reach 26 kilowatts per kilogram, or 130 times that of lithium-ion batteries.

The Yal-1 laser cannon required a power output of one megawatt. A capacitor required to meet that power demand, using conventional technology, would weigh more than 10 tonnes. Huang’s team’s new supercapacitor, in theory, would weigh 40kg.
READ MORE: Lethal laser weapon deployed on USS Ponce in Persian Gulf

“A significant weight loss in the power unit can reduce the overall mass of a laser system. It can extend the application of laser weapon to fighter jets or even spacecraft,” said professor Zhu Heyuan, an expert of laser technology at Fudan University in Shanghai, who was not involved in the research.

“If the new technology really works and wins a nod from military, a Star Wars weapon may not be very far from us.”

A remaining problem for capacitors is their very low energy-storage capacity, which means their high power output might not last long enough to inflict fatal damage on an enemy target.

Huang’s supercapacitor broke the traditional limits of ordinary capacitors with an ability to store 41 watt-hours of electricity per kilogram. Though lower than a lithium battery, it was equivalent to lead-acid cell batteries used in cars today. It was the first time that a capacitor could store as much energy as a mainstream battery.

The higher new energy storage capacity opens up new application in other advanced weapons.

Recent years have seen rapid advances in electrically powered weapons for naval and army use. Rail guns, for instance, used electromagnetic force to accelerate projectiles at 10 times the speed of sound to hit long-distance targets, penetrate thick tank armour and intercept incoming missiles.

These new weapons, like the laser cannon, were too big and heavy to be mounted on most aircraft. The world’s most powerful rail gun, which can deliver 32 megajoules of kinetic energy, was tested by the US navy because the warship could bear the weight of its power supply unit.

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delft said:

This technology might find a use in storing the energy needed by an EM cat. Easier to handle and with less wear than with the rotating storage method used in EMALS.

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supercat said:

There are rumors on the Chinese internet that China will create a fourth branch of the military called "strategic support".

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