DTN News: Chinese Navy Air Force - Maintain Strong Impact With 400 Combat Aircraft Mostly Vintage

DTN News: Chinese Navy Air Force - Maintain Strong Impact With 400 Combat Aircraft Mostly Vintage

* Roger Smith - DTN News has added contents and images in this article from reliable sources besides Strategy Page

Source: Strategy Page

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 4, 2010: The Chinese Navy has its own air force, with over 400 combat aircraft. Most of these are elderly, but still dangerous under the right conditions. These aircraft operate from 24 air bases along the 18,000 kilometer long coastline. There are about 120 H-6s, a Chinese built Russian Tu-16. Although the Tu-16 design is over fifty years old, China has continued to rely on their H-6s as one of their principal bombers. The H-6 is a 78 ton bomber with a crew of four, a 6,000 kilometer range. It can carry nine tons of bombs and missiles. There are about 45 J-7s, a Chinese built copy of the MiG-21. Many are being equipped with Western (or Western class) electronics and engines. This makes it a considerably improved MiG-21. Can carry 1.5 tons of bombs. There are about 60 J-8s, a Chinese two engine variant of the MiG-21. China's first attempt at building their own aircraft. But it was not a very original or successful effort. Can carry about three tons of bombs and is mainly used by the navy. There are nearly a hundred JH-7s. These are Chinese designed and built fighter-bombers that entered service in the 1990s. They were meant to replace the retired H-5s (Russian Il-28 copies). There are 24 Su-30s (a Russian design) and at least two J-15s (a Chinese copy of the Russian Su-27s modified to operate from carriers). The navy would like to replace all its J-7s and J-8s with Su-30s, but that won't happen. Meanwhile, the navy is being provided with J-11s. In the last few months, satellite photos have shown J-11 jet fighters at naval air bases. These are illegal Chinese copies of the Russian Su-27. These are cheaper than Su-30s, and are built entirely of Chinese parts. The remaining aircraft are helicopters, trainers and transports. The navy has long had a reputation as a ramshackle outfit, with old (and often rejected by the air force) aircraft, poor training and indifferent leadership. There have been considerable efforts to change all that, but progress is slow.

HISTORY OF THE TU-16 IN CHINA The origins of the H-6 can be traced back to 1956, when the Soviet Union agreed that it would help China to build a medium bomber force. The idea behind this was that the USSR would command a combined USSR-PRC nuclear force, something which later proved unacceptable for the Chinese. A license agreement for Tu-16 bombers was signed in 1957, and two years later the first parts for assembly in Harbin arrived from the Soviets. Apart from these, two Soviet-built Tu-16s were flown in to serve as pattern aircraft. The first H-6 built from Soviet parts flew only 67 days after manufacture started, on September 27th 1959. After factory acceptance trials, this aircraft went to the PLAAF just like a second prototype built with Soviet parts. One of these was later modified as a nuclear bomber with an airconditioned bombbay and special bomb mountings. A nuclear bomb was dropped by this aircraft at the Lop Nor test site on May 14, 1965. Production got seriously delayed when the CCP decided that H-6 production should be concentrated at Xi'an, while Harbin would start working on a reverse-engineered Il-28 under the designation H-5 because the plant at Harbin already had a major Il-28 rework facility. Moving H-6 production to Xi'an however ment that some 3000 engineers had to be moved, as well as the already delivered documents and tools. This entire program lasted until 1964, by which time it was realised that a large part of the necessary technical documentation was missing. The PRC was quick to blame this on the Soviets with which relations had seriously deteriorated by then. It is nevertheless equally possible that the relocation of the H-6 production caused the loss of these documents. To retrieve this data, the existing H-6es built with Soviet parts, together with the two Tu-16s were taken apart and studied with the intention to reverse-engineer them. Over ten years after the first flight of a Badger built in the PRC, a prototype of the H-6 built with only Chinese parts took to the air. To distinguish this from the origian two Harbin-built H-6es, these got the designation H-6A. Deliveries of aircraft built to this standard were delivered to operational PLAAF and PLAN units from 1970 on. It is not known if all of these are equipped with the airconditioned bombbay and other nuclear modifications, although some sources suggest that these are officially referred to as H-6II.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

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China Exports More Arms To African Countries!

China Exports More Arms To African Countries! Source: UPI Asia by Andrei Chang (NSI News Source Info) Hong Kong - January 28, 2009: Increasing quantities of China-made military equipment have been finding their way to Africa, traded for oil, mineral resources and even fishing rights. Zambia has used its copper resources to pay China in a number of military deals, for instance, and Kenya has been negotiating with China to trade fishing rights for arms.

During Zimbabwe's involvement in the DRC, six or seven F-7s were deployed to the Lubumbashi IAP and then to a similar installation near Mbuji-Mayi. From there, AFZ F-7s flew dozens of combat air patrols in the following months, attempting in vain to intercept transport aircraft used to bring supplies and troops from Rwanda and Burundi to the Congo. In late October 1998, F-7s of the No.5 Squadron were used in an offensive in east-central Congo. This began with a series of air strikes that first targeted airfields in Gbadolite, Dongo and Gmena, and then rebel and Rwandan communications and depots in the Kisangani area on November 21.

Among the most popular Chinese military exports to Africa are the J-7, K-8 and Y-12 aircraft, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to operate. China sees those countries already armed with the K-8 and J-7 aircraft as potential customers for its new FC-1 fighters. Sources from the Russian and South African military industries say they are now keeping an eye on China’s FC-1 fighter sales. The Russian military believes the FC-1 is inferior to its MiG-29 SMT and Su-30 MKA. But the Russians cannot match China’s deal-making ability, as the Chinese are accepting oil and minerals in lieu of cash to pay for their equipment. A delegation from the Nigerian air force told the author at the Cape Town Air Show in South Africa last September that their country was negotiating with China to purchase K-8 trainer aircraft. The country imported Chinese J-7 fighters in 2006, and has expressed an interest in the FC-1. Zimbabwe’s air force delegation told the author that they were negotiating the purchase of one squadron of FC-1 fighters from China. Zimbabwe is already equipped with K-8 trainers and J-7 fighters. In August last year one Zimbabwean K-8 trainer crashed due to pilot error, the air force representative admitted. The current problem lies in how Zimbabwe will be able to pay for the purchase of FC-1 fighters. A source from the South African military industry says that China is interested in Zimbabwe’s zinc and aluminum mines. In recent years, a large number of Chinese companies have been involved in the development of mines in Angola as well. Military observers in South Africa told the author that there are many Chinese workers in Angola, and China has already become the largest importer of the country’s crude oil. A source from the Angolan military said the country was very interested in Chinese arms. He said the Angolan air force needed entry-level trainer aircraft, and therefore was discussing a deal to import Chinese aircraft. The Angolan air force also intends to acquire new-generation advanced fighters. A source from the South African military industry said Angola has at least eight Su-27 fighters. Since Russia denies having exported these planes to Angola, they are believed to be secondhand Su-27 fighters from Ukraine or Belarus, both of which have good military ties with Angola. Since Angola has rich oil resources – and if combat capability is not a top priority in its choice of fighter aircraft – there is a good chance the country may trade its oil for China-made fighters. The author has learned that the Angolan army is also in contact with China’s defense manufacturer Norinco for the purchase of artillery guns, armored vehicles and ammunitions. China has been supplying an extensive range of light weapons and ammunitions to Zimbabwe and Angola. African military sources told the author that Norinco has recently exported a certain quantity of 155-mm howitzers to North African countries, including Algeria, Sudan and Egypt. One source claimed that Algeria purchased enough 155-mm auto-propulsion howitzers to equip a battalion. This country has not traditionally been a purchaser of Chinese ground-force equipment, but seems to have taken its lead from Sudan, which first bought the howitzers. One company of Chinese auto-propulsion 155-mm howitzers consists of six artillery vehicles, one 704-1 positioning radar and one 720-D meteorological radar. One battalion is composed of 18 155-mm howitzers, one command vehicle and one surveillance vehicle. This type of auto-propulsion 155-mm howitzer originated from the 45-caliber PLL01 towed howitzer, which uses extended range full bore, base bleed or rocket-assisted (ERFB-BB/RA) ammunition with a maximum range of 50 kilometers. Other ammunitions used for the howitzer are the 30-kilometer ERFB/HE (high explosive), and 39-kilometer ERFB-BB/HE. The weight of the artillery gun is 13 tons. Analysts from the African military industry believe that China has fitted Russian Krasnopol semi-active laser-guided gun launch projectiles on its 155-mm howitzers. The United Arab Emirates uses the Chinese-version Krasnopols, which are almost one-third cheaper than the Russian originals. A military source also told the author that Norinco has delivered WMZ-551 6×6 wheeled armored vehicles to both Zambia and Kenya in the past three years. Kenya is not a traditional market of Chinese ground-force equipment, but as China has been competing fiercely with Russia and South Africa in selling arms in Africa, it appears to be opening up new markets. The Royal Guards of Oman have imported 50 of these vehicles, and the Sudanese army also has them. The WMZ-551 uses a new turret and is equipped with the 2A72 30-mm gun produced under license from Russia. The armored vehicle can be fitted with a 12.7-mm machine gun, 105-mm smoothbore gun, 120-mm mortar and four HJ-8 anti-tank missiles. It has been reported recently that the Chinese army’s light mechanized brigades have received batches of WMZ-551 wheeled armored vehicles fitted with 120-mm mortar guns, 105-mm smoothbore guns and 2A72 30-mm cannon guns. A source from the Chinese military industry claimed that the turrets of the WMZ-551 can be transferred to 8×8 wheeled vehicles once those have been developed.

Dockworkers in South Africa have blocked a Chinese arms boat from reaching Zimbabwe. The An Yue Jiang, a Chinese ship carrying the weapons, was anchored just outside Durban harbor after receiving permission late Wednesday to dock. Its arrival earlier this week has increased concern about tensions in Zimbabwe, where the ruling party and the opposition are locked in a dispute over presidential elections. A South African government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, had confirmed that there were weapons on board but gave no further details. Aside from the weapon systems fitted on board, the WMZ-551 has a combat weight of 13.5 to 19 tons. It is powered by one 235-kilowatt diesel engine, has a maximum speed of 85 kilometers per hour, a maximum duration of 600 kilometers, a length of 6.69 meters, width of 2.86 meters, and its speed in water is eight kilometers per hour.