Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

Chinese carrier Liaoning ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Simon Yang) Source- The Diplomat Author- Shinnon Tiazzi A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that China is currently building an aircraft carrier in Dalian, a port city in northeastern China. The carrier will be China’s second, but the first to be indigenously-built. China’s current aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was Russian-made and purchased from Ukraine. The Liaoning was totally refitted by Beijing and commissioned in 2012.   This isn’t the first we’ve heard of China’s second aircraft carrier, but it’s the first time the Defense Ministry has official confirmed the project. Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun told the press that “relevant authority started the research and development of China’s second aircraft carrier, which is currently under independent design and construction.” He emphasized that the new carrier is home-grown — “designed independently by China.” Earl

USS Harry S Truman ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar The United States is accusing Iran of testing rockets near one of its aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf as it passed through the Straits of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) denounced the Iranian actions as “highly provocative.” But could Iran actually sink one of the U.S. Navy’s mighty flattops? According to CENTCOM, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval vessels conducted live-fire drills less than 1,500 yards away from the Nimitz-class carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) destroyer and the French frigate FS Provence on Saturday. Moreover, civilian shipping traffic was in the area. “Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional and inconsistent with in

USS Carl Vinson ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar The U.S. Navy is struggling to meet its worldwide commitments with only ten aircraft carriers in the fleet. The service has been down to ten flattops ever since USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was retired in December 2012. The Navy will only return to eleven ships once USS Gerald R. Ford is commissioned in 2016, but that vessel won’t be ready for deployment until 2021. But the law requires the Navy to operate a minimum of eleven carriers. The service is operating under a temporary exemption that allows it operate only ten vessels. But because the Navy is struggling to meet requirements with the current number of operational carriers, Congressman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) has introduced legislation to that would require the service to maintain a fleet of no less than twelve carriers. The law used to require the Navy to operate twelve flattops until the last

Credits- Internet image Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda With little fanfare, China has probably started construction on its first indigenously-built aircraft carrier. Images from Chinese social media and satellite imagery from earlier this year, acquired by IHS Jane‘s 360, suggest that the new carrier has been under construction at the Dalian shipyard. The new carrier is reportedly using the same dry dock that was used to upgrade and refurbish the Varyag, a Soviet-designed and built Admiral Kuznetsov-class multirole carrier, into the Liaoning, the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s sole aircraft carrier. The Liaoning was commissioned three years ago, in September, 2012. Analysts believe that China is planning to field a four-carrier navy. An image posted by a Weibo user earlier this year (above) purports to show progress on the carrier at the Dalian shipyard. Satellite imagery analysis by Jane‘s reveals some features of the carrier’s physical dimensions. Specifi

Image credits- United States Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar In the decades since the end of the Second World War, the U.S. Navy’s carrier strike groups have been the dominant force across the world’s oceans. Even the Soviet Union never really managed to challenge the U.S. Navy’s mastery of the seas. But as of late, there is growing concern that China’s People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) may be stepping up to the plate. The Soviets mainly focused their efforts on a “sea denial” strategy using a combination of Backfire bombers, submarines and surface combatant armed with long-range anti-ship missiles. The People’s Republic of China also seemed to be focusing purely on developing an anti-access strategy using similar methodology. But like the Soviets toward the end of the Cold War, the Chinese seem to be intent on developing a blue water surface fleet that might one day be able to challenge the U.S. Navy on the high seas. Picking up wh

Soviet proposed super carrier Ulyanovsk ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- K.E Cepreeb) Source- The National Interest Author- Paul Richard Huard Had she ever sailed, the Soviet supercarrier Ulyanovsk would have been a naval behemoth more than 1,000 feet long, with an 85,000-ton displacement and enough storage to carry an air group of up to 70 fixed and rotary wing aircraft. With a nuclear-powered engine—and working in conjunction with other Soviet surface warfare vessels and submarines—the super carrier would have steamed through the oceans with a purpose. Namely, to keep the U.S. Navy away from the Motherland’s shores. But the Ulyanovsk is a tantalizing “almost” of history. Moscow never finished the project, because it ran out of money. As the Cold War ended, Russia plunged into years of economic hardship that made building new ships impossible. The Ulyanovsk died in the scrap yards in 1992. But now the Kremlin is spending billions of rubles mod

Varyag being towed to China ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- United States Naval War College) Source- The National Interest Author- Harry J.Kazianis Could Beijing and Moscow’s budding friendship be moving towards the joint development of some of the most sophisticated types of naval vessels on the planet? A recent report may indicate that China and Russia might be considering a big leap in military cooperation: the possibility of jointly developing an aircraft carrier. Such an idea was raised in a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal near the very end of an article detailing Moscow’s struggles to develop advanced military hardware thanks to economic challenges. The piece states specifically, “Russia has touted what it calls a strategic alliance with China, which may develop into plans to build a joint aircraft carrier.” The articles continues, explaining that: “A defense industry official, however, said China is raising its demands, and

USS Gerald R. Ford class Aircraft Carrier ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- US Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Zachary Keck Despite the proliferation of precision-guided ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft carriers are far from obsolete. That was the message Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker, commander of Naval Air Forces, sought to deliver this week. Writing in a commentary piece on DOD Buzz, Shoemaker argued that: “Today, more than ever, U.S. national interests require the speed, endurance, flexibility and autonomous nature of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear powered aircraft carrier, which deploys, operates and is prepared to fight as part of a Carrier Strike Group (CSG).” He added: “Operationally, the combined strength of the CSG remains vastly greater than the sum of its parts. As a complex, joint force multiplier, with command and control and organic logistical capabilities, there exists no comparable way to quickly generate the effects crucial to

PLAN Liaoning carrier battle group ( Credits- Internet Image) Source- Want China Times Konstantin Sivkov, a Russian defense analyst, said in his piece written for Moscow-based Military Parade that even as China speeds up the development of its first domestic aircraft carrier, it would still be unable to defeat the United States in a future carrier battle. Sivkov said that China had successfully changed the equipment aboard the Liaoning, the nation's first aircraft carrier introduced from Ukraine, to use domestic products. A Type 382 Sea Eagle S/C air-search radar which allows Liaoning to track 10 targets in the air simultaneously can be seen aboard the ship. It is also fitted with a set of four active electronically scanned array radar panels which give the Liaoning a very similar air defense capability to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, according to Sivkov. However, the Russian expert also said that China's air defense missiles can only intercept between f