Archive | Blog Posts

01 March 2011 ~ 4 Comments

Xinhua: “Chinese Navy Frigate Arrives Waters off Libya for Escort Mission”

“Chinese Navy Frigate Arrives Waters off Libya for Escort Mission,” Xinhua, 1 March 2011.
Updated: 2011-03-01 20:00:00
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) — A Chinese navy frigate has already reached mission waters off Libya on Tuesday to offer support and protection for ships evacuating Chinese nationals.
The frigate, Xuzhou, met with a Greek merchant vessel chartered by the Chinese [...]

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28 February 2011 ~ 0 Comments

Zhongping News Agency: China’s Air Force Sends 4 IL-76 Military Transport Aircraft to Evacuate Chinese Nationals from Libya

中国空军派4架飞机接运中国在利比亚人员

http://www.chinareviewnews.com 2011-02-28 17:47:33

中评社北京2月28日电/国防部新闻事务局透露,经中央军委批准,空军派出4架伊尔-76飞机,于2月28日飞赴利比亚执行接运中国在利比亚人员的任务
For more details on Beijing’s dispatching of the frigate Xuzhou to escort ships transporting Chinese citizens from Libya, see:
Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “Missile Frigate Xuzhou Transits Suez Canal, to Arrive off Libya ~Wednesday 2 March: China’s first operational deployment to Mediterranean addresses Libya’s evolving security situation,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国), No. 26 (27 February 2011).
Gabe [...]

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22 February 2011 ~ 1 Comment

RAND Report Just Released–“Shaking the Heavens and Splitting the Earth: Chinese Air Force Employment Concepts in the 21st Century”

Roger Cliff, John Fei, Jeff Hagen, Elizabeth Hague, Eric Heginbotham, and John Stillion, Shaking the Heavens and Splitting the Earth: Chinese Air Force Employment Concepts in the 21st Century, MG-915-AF (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2011).
 Less than a decade ago, China’s air force was an antiquated service equipped almost exclusively with weapons based on 1950s-era Soviet [...]

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22 February 2011 ~ 1 Comment

National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) Report Released: “People’s Liberation Army Air Force 2010”

People’s Liberation Army Air Force 2010 (National Air and Space Intelligence Center: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 1 August 2010).
This handbook is based on information compiled from open source Chinese publications, as well as discussions with Chinese military officials and US academicians. The intent of the study is to educate US Air Force members about [...]

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18 February 2011 ~ 1 Comment

Global Times Claims Chinese Conventional Ballistic Missile with 4,000 km Range (Sufficient to Strike Guam) “Ready for Service” by 2015 & DF-21D is “Already Deployed in the Army”

Song Shengxia; Zhang Han and Huang Jingjing, “New Missile ‘Ready by 2015’: Global Times,” People’s Daily Online, 18 February 2011.
Global Times (环球时报, Huanqiu Shibao) is not an official newspaper. Published on weekdays, it focuses on international issues and foreign reaction to developments in China. But it is sponsored by and produced under the auspices of People’s Daily (人民日报, Renmin Ribao), the official [...]

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15 January 2011 ~ 1 Comment

China-Specific Content from Vice Admiral David J. Dorsett, Deputy CNO for Information Dominance, Q&A with Media, 5 January 2011

Defense Writers Group, Vice Admiral David J. Dorsett Deputy CNO for Information Dominance, Transcript of Q&A, Air Force Magazine website, 5 January 2011.
[Edited to fix what appears to be mistranscription of “DF-21D”].
… 
Q: Good morning, Admiral. About a year and a half ago Secretary Gates said that we wouldn’t see a Chinese stealth fighter for about [...]

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04 January 2011 ~ 6 Comments

Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance (N2/N6): China Has Space-Based & Non-Space-Based C2 + ISR “capable of providing the targeting information necessary to employ the DF-21D” Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM)

In response to a query from Bloomberg news reporter Tony Capaccio, the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance (N2/N6) provided the following responses on Monday 3 January 2011:
1. Does the US Navy agree with ADM Willard’s view that the Chinese have reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) with the DF 21D?
 Answer: The [...]

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27 December 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Admiral Willard, COMPACOM, Tells Asahi Shimbun’s Yoichi Kato That China’s Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Has Reached Equivalent of “Initial Operational Capability” (IOC)–Full Transcript Just Released

Yoichi Kato, National Security Correspondent, “U.S. Commander Says China Aims to be a ‘Global Military’ Power,” Asahi Shimbun, 28 December 2010.
Q [Yoichi Kato]: Let me go into China’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities. What is the current status of China’s anti-ship ballistic missile development, and how close is it to actual operational deployment?
A [Admiral Robert F. [...]

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26 December 2010 ~ 17 Comments

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #14–China Deploys World’s First Long-Range, Land-Based ‘Carrier Killer’: DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Reaches “Initial Operational Capability” (IOC)

Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China Deploys World’s First Long-Range, Land-Based ‘Carrier Killer’: DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Reaches ‘Initial Operational Capability’ (IOC),” China SignPost™ (洞察中国), No. 14 (26 December 2010).
Japanese translation now available.
[ACCOMPANYING GRAPHICS AVAILABLE IN FULL COLOR VIA LINKS TO PDF COPY ABOVE]
For further information on Chinese ASBM development, see also “China Testing [...]

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25 December 2010 ~ 16 Comments

China Testing Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM); U.S. Preparing Accordingly–Updated With Latest Analysis & Sources

First posted 28 March 2010, updated until 25 December 2010 with additional analysis and sources:
CURRENT STATUS:
Open source data offer significant evidence that China has prioritized and is proceeding rapidly with anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) development. A variety of Chinese sources have stated a desire to demonstrate the ability to threaten carrier strike groups (CSGs). China’s ASBM [...]

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