Chinese navy commissions two more Jiangdao-class corvettes
Gabriel Dominguez, London and Michele Capeleto, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
14 December 2016
The PLAN commissioned Jiangdao-class corvettes Baoding (seen here) and Heze into its East Sea Fleet on 12 December. Source: Via China Military Online
China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its 28th and 29th Jiangdao-class (Type 056/056A) corvettes at a naval port in Lianyungang in eastern Jiangsu Province on 12 December, according to the China Military Online website.
Baoding (hull number 511) and Heze (hull number 512), named respectively after the city of Baoding in Hebei Province and the city of Heze in Shandong Province, entered service with the PLAN's East Sea Fleet. Both ships had been launched in 2015.
According to IHS Jane's Fighting Ships, corvettes of this class have a full load displacement of 1,500 tonnes.
The vessels are armed with four YJ-83 anti-ship missiles, a 76 mm gun, two 30 mm cannons, two triple-barrelled lightweight torpedo launchers, and an eight-cell HQ-10 short-range launcher. The sensor suite comprises a Type 347G (LR 66) I-band fire-control radar and a bow-mounted sonar.
IHS Jane's had reported that a number of the class have enhanced anti-submarine capabilities (Type 056A) with towed and variable-depth sonars in addition to the hull-mounted sonar fitted to all of the class.
Although not equipped with a hangar, a Z-9 helicopter can be operated from the flight deck to either supplement the ship's sonar suite with airborne dipping sonar or provide the capability to engage a submarine at greater range than achievable with ship-launched torpedoes.
China launches another Jiangdao-class corvette, says report
Andrew Tate, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
20 December 2016 China's 41st Jiangdao-class (Type 056) corvette was launched in early December at the country's Liao Nan Shipyard in Dalian, according to Chinese media reports.
The ship will be named Zhangye after the city in China's central Gansu Province, the Zhangye Daily newspaper reported on 14 December.
Zhangye is the ninth 1,500-tonne Jiangdao-class corvette to be constructed by this shipyard and the fourth to be launched there this year.
On 12 December the 28th and 29th of the class were commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy's East Sea Fleet and a further two are expected to commission shortly.
PLAN Liaoning Aircraft Carrier CSG Crossed the First Island Chain & Entered South China Sea
The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) aircraft carrier Liaoning and its escort entered today in the South China Sea after passing south of Taiwan, for what Beijing presents as a routine exercise. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, escorted by five vessels sailed 90 nautical miles from the southern tip of Taiwan via the Bashi Strait that separates Taiwan from the Philippines.
The PLAN Aircraft Carrier Liaoning crossed the "First Island Chain" for the first time.
On Sunday night, Japanese authorities said they spotted the six Chinese vessels, including the Liaoning, passing between Miyako Islands and Okinawa Island, in the Ryukyu Japanese archipelago, and penetrating into the Western Pacific (This area is usually reffered as "the first island chain" by China). This is significant as it is the first time that Liaoning crosses these islands. It was officially confirmed by a PLAN statement.
The Japanese MoD said today that the movement of this naval group illustrated the development of Chinese military power and that Tokyo was closely monitoring its progress. On december 25th, the JMSDF published the compisition of the Chinese CSG:
- Liaoning aircraft carrier.
- 2x Type 052C Destroyers (151 Zhengzhou from East Sea Fleet and 171 Haikou from South Sea Fleet)
- 1x Type 052D Destroyer (173 Changsha from South Sea Fleet)
- 2x Type 054A Frigates (538 Yantai and 547 Linyi from North Sea Fleet)
- 1x Type 056A ASW Corvette (594 Zhuzhou from South Sea Fleet)
- 1x Type 903A supply vessel (966 Gaoyouhu from East Sea Fleet)
Expected path of the PLAN Aircraft Carrier Liaoning currently deployment
The composition of this CSG is rather interesting:
First because of the variety of ships coming from the three PLAN fleets which are not used to being affected together.
Second, because of its versatility with AAW Destroyers, ASW Frigates and Corvette, all supplemented by a refueling capacity at sea, plus at least 13 fighter jets and several helicopters.
Although this is not mentioned - neither in the PLAN statement nor in the Japanese Report - it is not excluded that a PLAN SSN, the Type 09III for example, is also part of the CSG to escort the first entry into the Western Pacific for a Chinese aircraft carrier.
The PLAN Aircraft Carrier Liaoning deployed with at least 13x J-15 jets. A first!
The precise objective of this first crossing of the Chinese CSG in the Western Pacific remains unknown to this day, but it should be noted that Admiral HU Sheng Li, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Navy, was aboard Liaoning on December 23, one day before the group crossed the first island chain.
Given the "youth" of the Chinese naval air force with carrier opetations, it is unlikely that this event will be a demonstration of force that the media like to evoke. In the short to medium term, it is almost certain that the Chinese navy will not directly use its first CSG to confront, for example, those of the US Navy.
The Chinese navy appears to be conducting a validation campaign to check the "resistance" of its very young carrier air wing. Secondly, the objective is probably to check whether the crew is ready to step out of the first stage of basic skills acquisition before moving on to the next stage and more complex operations in a " full-scale " field test.
In other words, a "final examination" after four years of apprenticeship, to find out if the first Chinese CSG is able to defend itself and to maneuver on the high seas.
Esta reportagem é bem representativa dos parâmetros que se tem, ou deve ter, em relação a formação de uma esquadra baseada em Nae's. Para uma viagem de treinamento como esta a marinha chinesa aportou seis escoltas de vários tipos de forma a cobrir suas necessidades de proteção.
No nosso caso é de se notar a total falta de meios capazes de fazer esta cobertura para o único Nae que temos, seja por obsolescência dos meios, seja por incapacidade de produzir seus substitutos. Notar também a diversidade de escoltas que fazem a proteção do Nae Liaoning, denotando a busca pelo equilíbrio na execução das diversas missões que se impõe a esta escolta.
Considerando que a nossa proposta é dispor de 2 Nae's, podemos julgar então que a nossa esquadra deve dispor, minimamente, de cerca de 18 navios a fim de cobrir a necessidade da sua escolta e ainda prover as FT anfíbias e demais missões de cobertura marítima que nos são de obrigação no AS. Neste sentido a disposição de navios de várias tonelagens é importante para o melhor balanceamento da esquadra. e prover as várias missões que lhe são necessárias.
O projeto das CV-3 neste sentido é emblemático visto que poderá nos dar no curto prazo à capacidade de prover se não toda, mas parte da recomposição da esquadra que precisa urgentemente ser substituída e complementada.
Penso que a melhor e mais realística alternativa para este problema é investir tudo o que temos para retomar esta condição de produzir os meios que podemos apor à esquadra de forma a no médio/longo prazo oferecer as soluções de meios navais de que precisamos. Acho que é possível mesmo prover fragatas e/ou destróyers em futuro distante, tendo em vista que os Nae's que pretendemos só se tornarão uma realidade páupável no pós-2040.
Neste meio tempo, de cerca de 25 anos, é mais que suficiente para retomar a capacidade construtiva naval e dispor dos meios necessários não apenas em termos de escoltas, mas sobretudo, e também, dos meios de apoio a esquadra, tão ou mais necessários a MB quanto aqueles.
Andrew Tate, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
30 December 2016
The PLAN's new Type 901 replenishment ship commenced sea trials on 18 December. Source: Credit: Via FYJS.cn
The People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN's) new Type 901 replenishment ship commenced sea trials on 18 December, according to Chinese media.
The 45,000-tonne vessel, which was built at Guangzhou Shipyard International's Longxue shipyard on the Pearl River, is expected to provide logistics support to the PLAN's nascent carrier force.
Photographic evidence of the ship's construction emerged in late 2015, not long before it was launched on 15 December 2015. It is equipped with three gantries and a fourth high-point structure port side aft, configured with five hose rigs for liquid refuelling on the port side and four on the starboard side. The central gantry provides a transfer station for solids on each side.
The ability to have multiple hoses connected will enable the Type 901 to not only provide aviation fuel and fuel oil to the carrier simultaneously, but also minimise the duration of each replenishment serial: a potentially hazardous evolution which limits the carrier's manoeuvrability and precludes it from operating aircraft.
The Type 901 will be able to refuel a carrier from its port side and, when fully worked-up, the ship will also be able to simultaneously refuel one of the carrier's destroyer/frigate escorts on its starboard side.
Replenishment of solids can be expected to include food and equipment spares, as well as air-launched munitions.
Propulsion of the Type 901 is thought to be provided by four QC280 gas turbines, each delivering 28 MW, enabling the ship to achieve a maximum speed of about 25 kt. This is significantly faster than the Fuchi-class (Type 903A). The speed is needed for the Type 901 to keep pace with the carrier and its escorts.
Refuelling conventionally powered carriers may be required every 3-4 days if conducting intensive flying operations requiring the carrier to operate near its maximum speed for extended periods.
China's Liaoning carrier group ventures into West Pacific for first time
Andrew Tate, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
30 December 2016
The PLAN has deployed its Liaoning carrier group for the first time beyond the First Island Chain. Source: CCTV
China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has for the first time deployed its Liaoning carrier group beyond the First Island Chain.
The carrier group is thought to have commenced its transit into the West Pacific on 23 December and passed through the Miyako Strait south of the Japanese island of Okinawa on 25 December.
The progress of Liaoning and her supporting escorts was monitored by a frigate and Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) as well as by Taiwanese assets.
The PLAN ships sailed to the east of Taiwan and subsequently passed through the Bashi Channel to the north of the Philippines before heading west to port facilities on China's Hainan Island.
Photographs posted on Chinese online forums show that the carrier was berthed alongside at the naval base south of Sanya by 28th December.
During the transit Liaoning was accompanied by a Luyang III-class (Type 052D) destroyer ( Changsha ), two Luyang II-class (Type 052C) destroyers ( Zhengzhou and Haikou ) and two Jiangkai II-class (Type 054A) frigates ( Yantai and Linyi ).
Before crossing the First Island Chain a Jiangdao-class (Type 056) corvette and a Type 903A replenishment ship were also in company but these appear not to have passed through the Miyako Strait.
Photographs taken of aircraft on the flight deck of Liaoning prior to the transit showed that at least 13 Shenyang Aircraft Corporation J-15 fighters were embarked, as well as at least one Z-18 helicopter, though it is not clear whether this was an airborne early warning or an anti-submarine warfare variant.
The JMSDF reported that a Z-9C helicopter was monitored flying in the vicinity of Miyako Island but no other flying operations were reported. Photographs taken by a JMSDF P-3C showed no aircraft on the deck of Liaoning during the transit, although they were evident after arrival in Sanya.
China may be building jetty for second aircraft carrier
Andrew Tate, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
30 December 2016
Satellite imagery posted on Chinese online forums show that China is building a second jetty adjacent to that used by the country's first aircraft carrier, Liaoning .
It is claimed that the new jetty, located at a naval base some 30 n miles south of Qingdao, is being built for the country's second carrier, which is at an advanced state of construction in Dalian.
Although facilities that have been used by Liaoning were constructed on Hainan Island in 2012, it makes logistical sense that China's first two carriers share the same base support facilities, given that the vessels are of the same design.
P44 escreveu:China's carrier replenishment ship begins sea trials
Andrew Tate, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
30 December 2016
The PLAN's new Type 901 replenishment ship commenced sea trials on 18 December. Source: Credit: Via FYJS.cn
Aí eu me pergunto: porque este navio não presta para a MB? Há mas ele é chinês... e chinês nós num intende... só ingrês.
FCarvalho escreveu:Esta reportagem é bem representativa dos parâmetros que se tem, ou deve ter, em relação a formação de uma esquadra baseada em Nae's. Para uma viagem de treinamento como esta a marinha chinesa aportou seis escoltas de vários tipos de forma a cobrir suas necessidades de proteção.
No nosso caso é de se notar a total falta de meios capazes de fazer esta cobertura para o único Nae que temos, seja por obsolescência dos meios, seja por incapacidade de produzir seus substitutos. Notar também a diversidade de escoltas que fazem a proteção do Nae Liaoning, denotando a busca pelo equilíbrio na execução das diversas missões que se impõe a esta escolta.
Considerando que a nossa proposta é dispor de 2 Nae's, podemos julgar então que a nossa esquadra deve dispor, minimamente, de cerca de 18 navios a fim de cobrir a necessidade da sua escolta e ainda prover as FT anfíbias e demais missões de cobertura marítima que nos são de obrigação no AS. Neste sentido a disposição de navios de várias tonelagens é importante para o melhor balanceamento da esquadra. e prover as várias missões que lhe são necessárias.
O projeto das CV-3 neste sentido é emblemático visto que poderá nos dar no curto prazo à capacidade de prover se não toda, mas parte da recomposição da esquadra que precisa urgentemente ser substituída e complementada.
Penso que a melhor e mais realística alternativa para este problema é investir tudo o que temos para retomar esta condição de produzir os meios que podemos apor à esquadra de forma a no médio/longo prazo oferecer as soluções de meios navais de que precisamos. Acho que é possível mesmo prover fragatas e/ou destróyers em futuro distante, tendo em vista que os Nae's que pretendemos só se tornarão uma realidade páupável no pós-2040.
Neste meio tempo, de cerca de 25 anos, é mais que suficiente para retomar a capacidade construtiva naval e dispor dos meios necessários não apenas em termos de escoltas, mas sobretudo, e também, dos meios de apoio a esquadra, tão ou mais necessários a MB quanto aqueles.
abs.
Colega,
Esqueça esta questão de NAe na MB. Nosso país e conduzido por pessoas acéfalas em relação a agenda de Defesa do país. Nossa população e amorfa e tem como preocupações básicas do que se alimentara no próximo dia, sendo assim '' gaga ralinho'' para o que acontece nas FAA's em especial para a Marinha que realiza tudo muito longe do olhar do cidadão comum. Nossa elite politica não e preciso falar do que a maioria e constituída, os meios de comunicação o fazem todos os dias.
Considerando esta dura realidade a realização do PROSUB e seu futuro desdobramento (mais SSK's e SNA's) a construção das CV 03, NaPas de 500 ton e Oceânicos, navios tanque e mais a frente umas fragatas já será um grande avanço e resultado de um esforço sobre humano da alta administração naval frente as resistências de um país que vive com as ''costas voltadas para o mar''.
Pensar em dois NAe's com seus respectivas escoltas e navios de apoio e um sonho muito distante, talvez nunca venha a se transformar em realidade. Eu tenho 60 anos e acompanho as curvas descendentes (mais estas) e ascendentes da MB a 45 anos. Vou esperar os próximos 40 anos para ver se em algum instante o Brasil inicie pelo menos a construção de um Poder Naval compatível com a maritimidade brasileira. Entretanto minhas esperanças são poucas. Infelizmente somente acredito que daremos prioridade a Defesa da nação quando perdemos algum patrimônio nacional relevante e o sangue de nosso povo seja derramado por alguma agressão inimiga. Enquanto isso seremos o Brasil varonil, do futebol, do carnaval, do samba, das prais bonitas...etc e com tudo isto o porque de uma Esquadra com NAe's.
China commissions 23rd Type 054A frigate into East Sea Fleet
Ridzwan Rahmat, Singapore - IHS Jane's Navy International
30 December 2016
Key Points
China has commissioned its 23rd Type 054A frigate
Induction bolsters anti-surface, anti-submarine capabilities of East Sea Fleet
The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has commissioned its 23rd Type 054A Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigate into the service's East Sea Fleet.
The vessel, which has been named Binzhou with pennant number 515, was inducted on 29 December in Zhoushan, in China's Zhejiang province, according to a report carried by China Central Television (CCTV) on the same day.
According to IHS Jane's Fighting Ships , the 3,500-tonne Jiangkai II class features an overall length of 134 m, an overall beam of 16 m, and a draught of 5 m.
Andrew Tate, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
03 January 2017
China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has commissioned a new Wozang-class (Type 082 II) mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV), according to the China Military Online website. The ship entered service with the PLAN's North Sea Fleet on 30 December at the Lushun naval base in the northeast of the country.
Named Donggang (pennant number 814) the vessel is the fifth of the class to enter service. The media report also confirmed that Donggang would operate as a mothership for three 100-tonne unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), which the US Office of Naval Intelligence designates as Wonang-class remotely controlled minesweepers.
The Type 082 II displaces around 600 tonnes, has a length of 55 m with a draught of 2.6 m, and a beam of 9.3 m, according to IHS Jane's Fighting Ships .
The first ship of the class entered service with the PLAN in 2005 and the second one in 2011. The other three have been commissioned within the past 18 months.
Photographs of other Wozang-class MCMVs show that they are equipped with underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for mine location, identification, and destruction.
These ROVs are similar in appearance to those used with the Italian Pluto system.
Donggang appears to be armed with a single barrelled 30 mm H/PJ14 gun.
