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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| Carrier returns to Dalian after maiden sea trial | |
| 2011-08-15 | |
| BEIJING - The country's first aircraft carrier finished its maiden sea trial on Sunday and returned to port in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province, domestic media reported. At about 10:30 am, the carrier, which was known as the "Varyag" when at the Black Sea Shipyard in Ukraine, broke through a thick fog and appeared about 3 kilometers east of the docks of the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd, which refitted the giant ship, according to the Beijing-based Mirror Evening News. At least seven tugboats guided the vessel to the dock, the report said. Naval officers on the deck were seen "leisurely strolling", it added. The aircraft carrier sounded its horn three times as it approached the shipyard, exactly as it did when departing on Wednesday. Early media reports cited unidentified military sources as saying that the vessel is supposed to be handed over to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy around Aug 1 next year, which will be the PLA's 85th anniversary.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 The aircraft carrier sounded its horn three times as it approached the shipyard, exactly as it did when departing on Wednesday. My God, it can do backing bells! |
| Posted by: Penguin 2011-08-15 21:16 |
| #4 I have to give China + PLA credit - as per ASYMMETRIC WARFARE, espec "BATTLESPACE MGT" + "MOTHERSHIPS", they're trying to see iff the VARYAG CVT = FUTURE CARRIER FORCE can possess powerful LR land-attack, naval attack, + BMD capabilities, etc. that normally would be on non-Carrier Surface Warfare units. PLA ARSENAL/FIRE SHIPS WID SU-33'S + J10's. The Russians likely have the same idea but under their proposal earlier this year to refurbish the KIROVS = COLD WAR "KIROV"-CLASS BATTLECRUISERS [Helos, VTOL] - IIRC, it was VLAD PUTIN that called for the construction of 2-4 new KIROVS??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-08-15 19:06 |
| #3 Don't discount them. They have a strategy and they are executing it. Getting the Varyag and an air wing operational is just another milestone in the strategy. The Chinese have all sorts of problems and disadvantages: their economy is built on sand, they have demographic stresses, and of course, their leaders are a bunch of corrupt commies. But for all their problems, I'm betting that most Chinese citizens support the overall strategy. China plans to be the pre-eminent world power of the 21st century in the way the U.S. was in the 20th and Britain was in the 19th. That's the strategy. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2011-08-15 17:26 |
| #2 it takes a while to train up the crew Human waves might be a good infantry tactic if you have lots of extra guys, but for carrier landings, not so much. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2011-08-15 16:31 |
| #1 While I shutter to think of a Chine with a carrier, I don't think they are quite ready for operations. It's not a plug-n-play, it takes a while to train up the crew and especially the pilots. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2011-08-15 13:58 |