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luosifen

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Chinese naval vessel rescues 12 civilians falling overboard​


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EditorWang Xinjuan
Time2023-05-05 18:17:01

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BEIJING, May 5 -- The Chinese Navy's frigate Panzhihua, which was carrying out a combat readiness patrol mission inwaters at the mouth of the Pearl River, rescued 12 civilians who fell overboard on May 1.
Upon receiving the search and rescue order, the frigate Panzhihua (hull 621) launched an emergency rescue plan and maneuvered toward the target waters at high speed. In less than 20 minutes after arriving at the designated sea area, the first person trapped in the water was discovered. The sailors assigned to the frigate steered a rigid-hull inflatable boat(RHIB) and rescued the man after overcoming strong surges. Within less than an hour thereafter, the frigate successively rescued the other 11 civilians from drowning.
After all the civilians were rescued and got on board, military doctors conducted physical check and psychological conciliation for them, along with clothing and accommodation offered to help them recover physical strength as soon as possible.
"Thanks to our sailors, we have got a second chance at life. Thank you very much!" The rescued cried excitedly.
On the morning of May 2, the frigate Panzhihua docked at a nearby military port and handed over the rescued civilians to the local emergency administration agency.
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ACuriousPLAFan

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While digging through the archives due to the recent development discussion on the 076 LHD, I've decided to revisit this:
Not sure whether this has been posted here, but here goes.

First saw this on Deino's Twitter posting yesterday:

Interestingly, this (note the red underline) from one of the replies:

To me, the document looks like a ship construction project tender for a drone carrier testbed ship for the PLAN. Dimension-wise similar to 071 LPD, although around 10k tons lighter.

I can confidently say that China is dead serious in procuring UCAV carriers for future use in the PLAN.

Maybe this is one of the steps towards finalizing the 076 LHA design?

Any thoughts?

In particular, this one (especially the bolded sentences):
two possibilities in my mind
1) This is just a test platform to try out certain technologies they want to deploy on 076
2) Second one is actually a mass produced flat top ship that probably has lower protection, speed requirements, endurance, crew rest spacing and damage control system. It probably has very high degree of automation so that it wouldn't need a large crew.

2) is more interesting and fun to speculate about. It would give them an attritable flat top program that can be deployed all around first island chain. Significantly adds to the strike ability to those places. I see it as a more souped up version of this.
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These bolded words and phrases remind of the features which have been used to describing a specific type of flat-top from the history books: Escort carriers from WW2.

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Uniformly-applicable features of escort carriers i.e. Bogue, Casablanca and Commencement Bay-classes include:
1. Only half the size and one-third the displacement of the fleet carriers (Yorktown and Essex-classes);
2. Slower top speed (~20 knots);
3. Lightly-armed and armored; and
4. Carry much fewer planes onboard.

Thanks to these features, escort carriers only pack small amounts of firepower, weak defense capabilities, higher attrition rates and lower survivability rates than fleet carriers (because they are easier to be knocked out or sunk by enemy action).

However, their smaller size and reduced complexity means that escort carriers can be built in massive quantities (115 vs 19 from Sept 1939 to August 1945) and at astounding speeds (~1 year or less vs ~2+ years) compared to fleet carriers. The abundance of escort carriers (mainly from late-1943 onwards) means that fleet carriers can be deployed to theaters and regions to focus on fighting higher-intensity naval battles, while escort carriers were used to plug gaps where fleet carriers aren't available and be relegated to lower-intensity duties (ASW patrol, merchant escort).

Plus, escort carriers were also considered more expendable compared to larger fleet due to the fact that they can be replaced more easily compared to larger fleet carriers. Losing one escort carrier from enemy action will not bring as much negative impact on the course and strategy of battle and war plans than losing one large fleet carrier.

Therefore, the above discussion brings to the testbed ship contract tender from September last year and @tphuang's possibility #2 in the quoted post above.

Perhaps this testbed ship could serve as a blueprint for China to procure "escort carriers" of the 21st-century in the coming years/during wartime, while playing largely similar roles as their WW2 counterparts?

~15 thousand tons of displacement, largely similar footprint as Type 071 LPD, 16 knots top speed, 18 months delivery period... This "escort carrier" isn't that much "different" compared to her WW2 counterparts, to be honest.

The key points - Should the situation during times of unprecedented tension and/or war resulted in the larger CVs (003, 005, 005) and LHDs (075, 076) not being able to be procured in time, China can procure many of these "escort carriers" quickly - And use them to plug the gaps with (maybe) 10+ mid- or high-performance UAVs that can be launched from these "escort carriers".

Instead of focusing on conducting naval strikes, these UAVs will be more focused on the AEW, ASW, ELINT and EW roles. Thus, the UAVs will become helpful eyes and ears for allied warships, when allied land-based and/or carrier-based AEW, ASW, ELINT and/or EW aircrafts aren't available.

Like my post in the High Intensity WestPac conflict thread a few months ago, @大包CG probably has described this "escort carrier" better than I do through his 3D-modelling skills:
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... largely based on his own interpretation on what a further development of the testbed ship into the "escort carrier" for PLAN use could look like.

071 LPD alongside for size comparison.
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by78

General
A confirmation that China is currently developing X-tail rudders for submarines. Images below show a procurement document from the China Ship Design & Research Center (a.k.a. 701 Institute). The document asks manufacturers to submit bids for a set of 55kN-m electro-hydraulic steering gear (with
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), to be used to actuate X-shaped stern rudders. The steering gear must be able to deflect all four rubbers at the same time up to 35 degrees to either side (i.e. 70 degrees total). The steering gear must weigh ≤1350kg.


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Jiangnan Shipyard is auctioning for a "x-rudder safety protection device" for an unspecified ship, probably SSN or SSBN related.

And it said that the winner needs to sign two contracts with Jiangnan and Huludao Shipyard respectively and deliver two devices in total.

View attachment 111771

This might be related. A scale unmanned submarine with X-tail is currently undergoing validation/verification tests in a lake somewhere in southern China.

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ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
Rough translation:

According to PLAN, a patient was recently transported from a submarine during a training session.
The patient was transported to a large hospital in the order of submarine, surface ship, helicopter, and ambulance. The submarine was a Type 093A SSN from the Northern Theater Command, and the Type 054A frigate "Yueyang (575)" arrived at the scene upon request.
This is a rare scene that is not often seen.

 

BoraTas

Captain
Registered Member
Just another sign of the expected submarine fleet modernization. What I know of China is, these kinds of specific public statements are for informing middle management about top level decisions. So that people in the defense industry, various ministries, and the PLA won't be arguing for the diversion of funds elsewhere. Combined with the recent submarine material we are getting and the visible activity in Huludao, it seems something has started to happen.
 

Overbom

Brigadier
Registered Member
Just another sign of the expected submarine fleet modernization. What I know of China is, these kinds of specific public statements are for informing middle management about top level decisions. So that people in the defense industry, various ministries, and the PLA won't be arguing for the diversion of funds elsewhere. Combined with the recent submarine material we are getting and the visible activity in Huludao, it seems something has started to happen.
Agreed. Also note:
"The submarine fleet has a glorious mission and great responsibilities to carry out combat in the Deep Ocean"
 

ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
Agreed. Also note: Deep Ocean
This could be a subtle hint of China's intention to completely break free of the FIC strangle and gradually expanding into the vast expanse of the Pacific in the coming years and decades. In effect, competing with the US hegemonic dominance of the Pacific, head-on.

Speaking of the underwater fleet, I believe there will be 4 tiers of submarines that would eventually serve with the PLAN:
1. Ballistic missile submarines (SSBN): 094A, 096
2. Cruise missile submarines (SSGN): 093B, 095
3. Attack submarines (SSN): "Mini-nuke" submarine
4. Conventional submarines (SSK): 039, 039A/B/C

Their respective roles, in my opinion:
1. SSBN - The underwater arm of China's nuclear arsenal triad. Conduct nuclear deterrence patrol.
2. SSGN - Patrol and hunt enemy warships and supply ships in faraway waters. Attack crucial enemy land targets.
3. SSN - Assist and support SSGN in patrolling and hunting enemy warships and supply ships in close-to-home and faraway waters.
4. SSK - Patrol close-to-home waters and form entry-denial blockades at chokepoints.

"A force of underwater vanguards that is competent on all fronts must be built" - I think this 4-tier structure will be sufficient.
 
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by78

General
An illustration from a publication showing what China expects the future of underwater warfare to look like. It involves extensive use of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) as force multipliers in both surveillance and attack roles, while manned submarines staying further behind and acting more as a command node that remotely directs UUVs. Interestingly, underwater weapon magazines (holding torpedos, mines, and missiles) are pre-installed at strategic locations and can be remotely activated and directed to ambush nearby targets. Also of interest is the laser communication system between UAVs and submerged submarines.

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Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
This could be a subtle hint of China's intention to completely break free of the FIC strangle and gradually expanding into the vast expanse of the Pacific in the coming years and decades. In effect, competing with the US hegemonic dominance of the Pacific, head-on.

I think that is something that's been obvious for a long time now, most obviously in terms of surface ships but it is also obvious in terms of the additional nuclear submarine construction capacity that they've built which we've identified for a while too.

For us as observers we no longer need subtle hints as to the PLA's intent and goals in this regard lol
 
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