XIANG YANG HONG 03 a Chinese ocean research vessel is entering the Indian Ocean Region, displaying its destination as Male, the vessel is expected to run an ocean survey operation in the Indian Ocean Region raising concern in #India
XIANG YANG HONG 03 a Chinese ocean research vessel is entering the Indian Ocean Region, displaying its destination as Male, the vessel is expected to run an ocean survey operation in the Indian Ocean Region raising concern in #India
'Riding the Waves': PLA Navy celebrates 75th anniversary
Chinese PLA Navy unveils its first submarine-themed short film marking 75th anniv. of founding
China’s New Aircraft Carrier Pulls Away From Its Pier Ahead Of Sea Trials
China’s first domestically designed aircraft carrier will introduce the People’s Liberation Army Navy to ‘cat and trap’ naval air operations.
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huhu…
Papeete [French Polynesia]: 300 “scientists” from the Yuang Wang 5 banned from disembarking, a second Chinese ship expected in the capital
deepl/The Yuang Wang 5, from the Chinese maritime satellite tracking and control department, docked at the Papeete quay on May 6, 2024. But no passengers were able to disembark due to visa issues. A second Chinese ship from the same department is due to arrive on May 13.
Recognizable by its large parabolas, the Yuang Wang 5 entered the port of Papeete on Monday. The ship's personnel have not yet disembarked since. According to our information, the People's Republic of China has issued a request to the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) for the Yuan Wang 5 and Yuan Wang 6 to stopover in Tahiti. The first for the dates of May 6 to 13 and the second, from May 13 to 19. Request which received a favorable opinion from the MEAE.
On the other hand, no crew list was transmitted, no visa application process was made to the French Embassy in Beijing for the members of the ship, as required by regulations to enter the territory. No visa could therefore be issued to the crew members: the ship's personnel cannot be authorized to disembark.
The Chinese Consul has been informed of the situation...meanwhile the 300 scientists are still stuck at the dock.
The boat, suspected by some countries of being a spy ship, is part of the third generation of the Chinese Department of Satellite Maritime Monitoring and Control's "space observation ships", the Yuang Wang, launched in 1977.
The Chinese boat must leave on Monday and make way for the Yuang Wang 6./deepl
Papeete [French Polynesia]: 300 “scientists” from the Yuang Wang 5 banned from disembarking, a second Chinese ship expected in the capital
deepl/The Yuang Wang 5, from the Chinese maritime satellite tracking and control department, docked at the Papeete quay on May 6, 2024. But no passengers were able to disembark due to visa issues. A second Chinese ship from the same department is due to arrive on May 13.
Recognizable by its large parabolas, the Yuang Wang 5 entered the port of Papeete on Monday. The ship's personnel have not yet disembarked since. According to our information, the People's Republic of China has issued a request to the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) for the Yuan Wang 5 and Yuan Wang 6 to stopover in Tahiti. The first for the dates of May 6 to 13 and the second, from May 13 to 19. Request which received a favorable opinion from the MEAE.
On the other hand, no crew list was transmitted, no visa application process was made to the French Embassy in Beijing for the members of the ship, as required by regulations to enter the territory. No visa could therefore be issued to the crew members: the ship's personnel cannot be authorized to disembark.
The Chinese Consul has been informed of the situation...meanwhile the 300 scientists are still stuck at the dock.
The boat, suspected by some countries of being a spy ship, is part of the third generation of the Chinese Department of Satellite Maritime Monitoring and Control's "space observation ships", the Yuang Wang, launched in 1977.
The Chinese boat must leave on Monday and make way for the Yuang Wang 6./deepl
China's Mysterious Stealthy Warship Has Headed Out To Sea
What exactly China’s plans are for the ship remains unclear, but it built it and got it out to sea extremely quickly.
www.twz.com
China Builds World’s First Dedicated Drone Carrier
China has built the world's first dedicated drone carrier. The ship has not been reported however and many of the circumstances surrounding it remain a mystery.
H I Sutton 15 May 2024Hidden away in a shipyard on the Yangtze, far upriver from the major yards at Shanghai, is a new aircraft carrier. It’s China’s fourth, a ship whose mere existence has not been reported before. Only China can build an aircraft carrier in relative secrecy.
This ship, launched in December 2022 but not reported until now, is surrounded by mystery. Naval News, together with J. Michael Dahm, Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute, have been analyzing it.
Mysterious Drone Carrier
The world knows about China’s first three carriers; the largest and most capable, the Type-003 Fujian, is currently undergoing sea trials. This new carrier is very different. Its claim to fame will not be that it is larger. Instead, we are confident that this ship is the world’s first dedicated fixed-wing drone carrier.The design is smaller than the regular aircraft carriers, with a flight deck approximately one third the length and half the width of a U.S. Navy or Chinese Navy (PLAN) super carrier. For comparison, it is slightly shorter but wider than a World War Two escort carriers. It would be possible to operate fixed wing aircraft from it, but its straight deck arrangement would be anachronistic, not allowing aircraft to take off and land at the same time. Additionally there doesn’t appear to be space for a typical aircraft hangar, so the number of aircraft would be greatly limited. It does make sense as a drone carrier however.
Drones are an increasing part of naval warfare. Leading navies are already trialing them from regular aircraft carriers. And some navies, notably Iran and Turkey, are working on plans for ‘drone carriers’. But this space is still in its infancy.
Analysis of the ship
It is immediately apparent that it is, in general arrangement, an aircraft carrier of some sort. It has a marked runaway running along the port (left side) with an island superstructure on the starboard (right) side.Beyond this, it is unusual in every respect. The hull is a widely spaced catamaran. While catamarans are often featured in aircraft carrier concepts because they allow a large deck area, no one has actually built one before. Additionally, analysis of satellite imagery shows that the flight deck is very low. It appears unlikely there is a hangar deck below the flight deck. If there is, its ceiling is very low. Therefore, it does not appear designed to support high tempo or prolonged flight operations.
The flight deck is wide enough to comfortably operate aircraft or drones with a wingspan of around 20 meters (65 feet) such as Chinese equivalents of the Predator drone.
However, the mere existence of a flight deck suggests that aircraft intend to land on it. A catapult or launch rail of some form would be sufficient for launch if recovery wasn’t necessary.
Potential roles for this ship
J. Michael Dahm notes that the shipyard where it is being built, Jiangsu Dayang Marine, has previously built simulated enemy ships for the PLAN. China has an extensive program of simulating Western and Western-leaning navies’ ships in its weapon testing program. Its anti-ship ballistic missiles are tested on full-size outlines of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.Several high-tech target barges and two large drone motherships have already been built at this shipyard. All these perform as opposing forces in training, a role known as ‘Electronic Blue Force’. So it is possible that this ship too is designed to support that mission.
If the new ship is intended to support large fixed-wing UAVs at sea, as its design suggests, then it raises the question of who or what it is expected to simulate. As we note, it is the first drone carrier in the world, so it is not mimicking any known Western ship. Such drones could be operated more cheaply from shore. A second possibility is that it is some type of experimental platform that will test and develop drone operations at sea.
Whether it is intended for Blue Force simulation or purely research and development remains to be seen. Similarly, we question whether it is an official PLAN program or a speculative commercial project. The new drone carrier remains something of a mystery. Watch this space.
