MigBuster 2,884 Posted November 25, 2012 Video footage from the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20484592 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WACO 2 Posted November 25, 2012 Well sooner or later it was going to happen. I am not convinced they will operate at the same level of USN carriers. Launching fighters in calm seas in the day is one thing...but launching and recovering them in the dead of night in pitching seas is another and I bet the USN will remain the only Navy to operate its aircraft regularly in adverse weather. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nesher 628 Posted November 25, 2012 interesting.. slowly changes the levels of power in the region wonder what the future brings when they'll have more than one in operational state... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vampyre 24 Posted November 25, 2012 I like the spin the story calling the J-15 a Chinese Produced Fighter... They left out the Russian designed part. The Chinese designed carriers are supposed to be better designed as combat ships than this "training carrier". It is fortuitus for the Chinese that they get to learn about carrier aviation from the western powers who have already paid the debt for it in national treasure and the lives of the brave Naval Aviators over the past 111 years that we have been flying aircraft off of ships. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
usafphantom2 19 Posted November 25, 2012 It will certainly make our naval exercises around Taiwan a little hotter! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Gepard 11,314 Posted November 25, 2012 First they will have to train the sailors and the aircrews. It will cost years to learn how to operate a carrier and its escort groups. They will have to learn the tactics, they will have to learn how to supply a carrier group. Its a lot to do. And i think China will need 5 years or more before their carrier will become a danger for other nations. And now the american submarines will have a new challenging target. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Typhoid 231 Posted November 25, 2012 Exactly right! Baby steps, but that's pretty logical. Another five years and they be getting close to a real operational capability. But with only one, everyone will be stumbling over each other to take the shot!! :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike1 0 Posted November 25, 2012 Well sooner or later it was going to happen. I am not convinced they will operate at the same level of USN carriers. Launching fighters in calm seas in the day is one thing...but launching and recovering them in the dead of night in pitching seas is another and I bet the USN will remain the only Navy to operate its aircraft regularly in adverse weather. Never say never - underestimating a potential opponent is not a great idea. I'd imagine that the DoD, and other countries in the region, are probably going to err on the side of caution about this. IIRC, the JMSDF have a pair of 20,000+ tonne "Helicopter Cruisers" on the stocks that are enlarged versions of Hyuga and Ise. If the Japanese were willing to go through the political hoops, I'd bet they'd be able to operate JSF. You also have India expanding it's carrier arm as well, both with the ex-Gorshkov and a domestically produced class. They do know how to conduct conventional carrier ops as well, though it was a while ago. I tend to agree with Gepard - short term, something to keep an eye on. Long term, let's see what the Chinese do with what they learn. Mike. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerSmith 72 Posted November 25, 2012 I bet the USN will remain the only Navy to operate its aircraft regularly in adverse weather. UK doesn't fly in adverse conditions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastCargo 412 Posted November 25, 2012 UK doesn't fly in adverse conditions? Not conventional, fixed wing, carrier capable aircraft, no. FC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast 153 Posted November 25, 2012 UK doesn't fly in adverse conditions? Not since they got rid of the Harrier's if you read some of the weather they flew in down in the Falklands you could call that Adverse weather... I spent 4 months there in the late 90's and they do go in for Adverse weather down there and then some!!! Boxing Day night Bermuda shorts and and Hawaiian Shirts New Years Eve/Day had to dig ourselves out of the snow... and that's just summer and as to the wind the only tree's down there are planted in Concrete... The RN are going to have to relearn all of these lesson's again if they get the Carriers and the Jets to go with them... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macelena 1,070 Posted November 26, 2012 The RN are going to have to relearn all of these lesson's again if they get the Carriers and the Jets to go with them... Well, it seems sure those carriers are coming and so will the jets. Just don´t let some bright guy decide to have them cancelled and sold to the PRC... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B52STRATO 215 Posted November 26, 2012 (edited) First they will have to train the sailors and the aircrews. It seems to me that for some time they have built a concrete 1/1 carrier replica, maybe to the train the crews to take-off and land (?) or more simply for a futur developpment. The model is visible on Google Earth coordinates. Edited November 26, 2012 by B52STRATO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thodouras95 25 Posted November 26, 2012 Well sooner or later it was going to happen. I am not convinced they will operate at the same level of USN carriers. Launching fighters in calm seas in the day is one thing...but launching and recovering them in the dead of night in pitching seas is another and I bet the USN will remain the only Navy to operate its aircraft regularly in adverse weather. That will happen too, I'm pretty sure.Maybe it'll be in 15-20 years from now, but it will happen sometime in the near future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KJakker 901 Posted November 27, 2012 Is it just me or does the launch of that J-15 in the video just look wrong due to the lack of sudden catapult acceleration? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerSmith 72 Posted November 27, 2012 Is it just me or does the launch of that J-15 in the video just look wrong? Made in China Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+logan4 847 Posted November 27, 2012 This carrier has no catapult, so it looks like any of the other su-33/su-27kub/mig-29k videos from kuznyetzov. The harrier STOL take offs are the same with the skiramp. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fallenphoenix1986 603 Posted November 27, 2012 Kind of sick of hearing China CAN'T or WON'T be able to do X, Y or Z. Generally they evetually do and then its a case of "well they wont be able to do it as well as insert western power", maybey not on day one, 10-15 years from now? As for operating in rough weather 24/7 that was pioneered by the Canadians, and subsequently practised by the US, UK, Australians and French, the only reason certain members of this group no longer do so is due to a lack of equipment, not some mythical powers posessed only by US Naval aviators. Also worth beating in mind is that Chinese SSN forces outnumber ours by more than 20:1, their airforce is rapidly modernising and like the SSN's massivly out number us, they won't need to be as good on a 1:1 basis to hammer us. Never underestimate a potential adversary, especially one with the resources of the Chinese. Craig 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+malibu43 142 Posted November 27, 2012 So... a Chinese pilot landed a Soviet plane on a Soviet ship that had Chinese sailors on it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Typhoid 231 Posted November 27, 2012 Falllenphoenix, I agree that the Chinese Navy will get there in due time and said so earlier. I give them about 5 years to be conducting fairly sophisticated ops. Bit Where in Hell do you come up with the idea that the Chinese outnumber our SSN feet 20:1? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fallenphoenix1986 603 Posted November 27, 2012 Sorry my mistake, should read 10:1. Current PLAN attack sub force (both SSK & N) consists of 59 hulls with more under construction/on order, RN consists of 5 T class one A class. Plans being to retire T's as A's come online leaving us with 7 A class in total. Craig Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B52STRATO 215 Posted November 27, 2012 Also, their still growing number of stealth catamarans have not to be ignored, an attack with many of these coastal ships and their cruise missiles could represent an important threat against a fleet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast 153 Posted November 27, 2012 The phrase here guys is Numbers have a quality all of their own... also the Chinese operate differently to the western military in that they look at a different way to defeat their opponents aka the DF-21 (That will hit the carriers further out than the carriers can attack) I know that the chances of a hit are on the low side at present but all it takes is one to get through and that is one boat in serious trouble... Also the are not worried about the timescale whereas we in the west want it now whereas they are happy to wait until we have dismantled all our weapons as being too costly and then wipe out the dinghy with the water pistol that is left... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lexx_Luthor 57 Posted November 27, 2012 10 - 20 yarns or even more sounds about right if they don't collapse in fraud. But by then will carriers be of primary importance? Probably yes but who knows? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SayethWhaaaa 245 Posted November 28, 2012 (edited) ...I bet the USN will remain the only Navy to operate its aircraft regularly in adverse weather. ...or the Spanish navy, of the Italian navy, or the Thai navy, or the Brazilian navy, or the Indian navy, or the Russian navy, or the French navy or any navy that has to put aircraft of any kind onto something flat that's being blown around by wind or kicked around by waves. Kind of sick of hearing China CAN'T or WON'T be able to do X, Y or Z. Generally they evetually do and then its a case of "well they wont be able to do it as well as insert western power", maybey not on day one, 10-15 years from now? As for operating in rough weather 24/7 that was pioneered by the Canadians, and subsequently practiced by the US, UK, Australians and French, the only reason certain members of this group no longer do so is due to a lack of equipment, not some mythical powers posessed only by US Naval aviators. Craig Bang on the money! This needed saying as a lot of people here seem to greatly underestimate China's abilities, be it military, economic or otherwise. If you want to underestimate them due some left over cold war attitude, go for it, but do so at your own peril. That was last century after all. Don't forget, this isn't the only experience they've had with aircraft carriers. For the past... roughly 26 years, they've had the HMAS Melbourne to dissect, practice with and learn from, rather than breaking it up as they were paid to do so in '85. They've built land based carrier runways to gain an understanding of what's required to stop tonnes of aircraft in short distances. Remember, many in the US were saying they couldn't field decent 4th generation aircraft not too long ago. And they have. Then it was about how they couldn't built stealth aircraft. That's changed too. They'll get there with naval aviation and they'll overcome problems with training and/or technology like many other nations have. There's nothing so inherently superior about the USN that means only they alone can do this, just as there nothing so inherently inferior about the PLAN that's going to preclude them from achieving these abilities. I mean, the RN hasn't had a CATOBAR carrier for 30+ years, but I don't see anyone doubting their ability to relearn it, despite the loss of their skills base. Edited November 28, 2012 by SayWhatt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites