The Chinese officially have a Boat...

[jmcquate]

The Chinese are experts at copy/improve, and that's what they will do with that Soviet piece of shit. Eventually they will get good at it, and it will become a serious threat.............and the big watches will be knock-offs

 

[Treetop Flyer]

I'm sure when she pulls in to HK their pilots will head to the breitling store. How can you be fighter guy without a 大手表*?





*big watch (or so says the google)

Someone beat me to it, but I'm sure there are plenty of places to choose from that are churning out "genuine" Bleitrings in China.

 

[nittany03]

I question any boat with non skid that clean. Either that or the Chinese has come up with some super non-skid recipe that has evaded the geniuses at NAVSEA. Im surprised as to how "comfortable/non-foreign" the evolution looked. LSOs, usual collection of rainbow ABs, and troubleshooters plus what looks to be a spotting dolly forward of the island make for a very routine boat picture. Plus, they've got a cool shark on their jets.

1. Interesting grease board on the LSO blast deflector.
2a. God, that takeoff roll is S L O W. As in "I'd-have-pulled-the-handle-with-a-stroke-that-shitty" slow.
2b. It'd be more impressive if the Flankers were carrying anything approaching relevance. One missile. Oooh.

 

[Uncle Fester]

The Chinese habit is to copy wholesale and then decide what to keep, modify, or discard. I imagine things will look different with each subsequent 'cruise video' they put out. Watching this I was reminded a lot of how the FN does things on CDG.

 

[zippy]

Same. I also wonder how much an knockoff EMALS might change the game. Steam Cats are a heavy investment, mag cats might be a shorter putt.

Maybe they'd be able get it to actually work...

 

[scoolbubba]

So between the two of them, if they synchronize their air plans, they'll be able to sustain what? A division of Flankers?

Just saw this.

Our British friends sailed halfway around the world with a handful of destroyers, frigates, subs and 2 baby carriers and defeated an advanced navy, Air Force, and conducted an amphibious invasion with far less advanced tech than what the PLAN is currently putting into action.

While we conduct revolutionary change by building billion dollar patrol craft, the Chinese are learning how to turn a brown water Navy blue.

Discount these boats at your peril.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Just saw this.

Our British friends sailed halfway around the world with a handful of destroyers, frigates, subs and 2 baby carriers and defeated an advanced navy, Air Force, and conducted an amphibious invasion with far less advanced tech than what the PLAN is currently putting into action.

While we conduct revolutionary change by building billion dollar patrol craft, the Chinese are learning how to turn a brown water Navy blue.

Discount these boats at your peril.

The British genius is for "muddling through with what we've got" and the Argentines were not the varsity in 1982. Not to detract from what the Brits pulled off, but bottom line is they overcame a lot of self-inflicted pain, while the Galtieri junta did not. None of which says yay or nay about the Chinese carrier.

The Chinese play a very long game and they're willing to be patient. This boat and this "air wing" today is nothing to fret about. But in 10, 15, 20 years? Short of domestic upheaval (always possible with China), yes, I agree we're going to be caught flat-footed.

 

[azguy]

While we conduct revolutionary change by building billion dollar patrol craft, the Chinese are learning how to turn a brown water Navy blue.

Discount these boats at your peril.

This. While a far numerically superior force, the vast majority of USN assets and people are weeks or more from the fight. Same goes for supply lines, which the PLAN measures in hundreds of miles and we measure in thousands. Also, as they continue reclamation in the SCS and build ties in the PI, I think their reliance on CVs decreases even more relative to our own over time.

 

[Flash]

I'm sure when she pulls in to HK their pilots will head to the breitling store. How can you be fighter guy without a 大手表*?

 

[Uncle Fester]

It says, "Fuck you, Paddles, Zhang was on rails the whole pass."

 

[Pags]

Liberty in Lan Kwai Fong for all my PLA(N) friends!