Hi All
something of interest to those of you who like to keep track of what’s going on amongst the less well-reported military air arms. Although it covers all armed services there is a fair amount on the PLAAF and its aircraft. This excerpt comes as an example from the summary:
Air Power
China has acquired Su-30MKK fighter aircraft from Russia. China also is producing Su-27 front-line fighter aircraft. Over the past two years, the Su-27s and Su-30s have been more rapidly integrated into operational units.
To bolster strike capabilities further, China reportedly is developing an improved version of the FB-7 supersonic fighter-bomber.
PLA Air Force (PLAAF) and PLA Naval Air Force (PLANAF) tactical forces also are developing and acquiring precision guided munitions (PGMs). The Su-30 is equipped to use anti-radiation missiles (ARMs).
China reportedly has developed electronic warfare variants of several of its larger aircraft, and may have several programs underway to deploy new stand-off and escort jammers on bombers, transports, tactical aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms.
In 1999, China introduced an airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft, the Y-8AEW. China is also looking to acquire the A-50 MAINSTAY AWACS aircraft from Russia.
China has been upgrading its air facilities along the Taiwan Strait.
Air combat tactics continue to evolve and training is becoming more
advanced. PLANAF fighters and tanker aircraft successfully transferred fuel during aerial operations over the South China Sea in April 2000.
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For those of you wanting to download and read the full (56 page) version please follow the links below. You’ll also need to get Adobe Acrobat Reader from http://www.adobe.com
The Department of Defense today released its report to Congress on the
Military Power of the People’s Republic of China. The report was completed pursuant to the fiscal 2000 National Defense Authorization Act.
A copy of the report is available on-line at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2002/d20020712china.pdf
The previous report was submitted to Congress in June 2000, and is available at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2000/china06222000.htm
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Steve Rush Touchdown-News
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July 12, 2002 at 10:11 pm