2.19 and 2.55 for reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1bSe3HQj0Q

Building Britains ultimate warship? You mean the ones with the screwed up wiring looms on its main armament? The ones with grandads Mk8 peashooter strapped to the front, the ones with no CIWIS or SSMs fitted? The same ones yeah?

Well considering the NGS isn’t a primary role I can live with the MK8 and the cost saving in using it. The Phalanx is virtually a single day in harbour bolt on and the mounts are in A-stan for the moment dealing with what Terry Taliban is lobbing at our bases, not happy with it not being fitted but it can be sorted quick. Harpoon would be nice but again anti ship capability isn’t a primary role and we have plenty on the Type 23.

As for wiring issues well I’m not that surprised and not that bothered, its a complex high tech ship and those issues are to be expected as the systems are bedded in. People forget it took a long time for the Type 42’s systems to be sorted.

They got a lot of help with that T-10K prototype. They also got a Su-25UTG off the Ukrainians according to Kanwa. The domestic naval flanker J-11H is very close to first flight if it hasn’t flied yet. I think they are aiming it to be ready for service somewhere around 2015 when Varyag becomes officially commisioned into service. Of course, having real carrier op experience will take much longer

Until then, J-11H will first do some testing in SAC, before being handed to CFTE or naval aircraft testing facility. And then China’s first batch of naval pilots will be testing either at NITKA or some domestic facility, probably NITKA.

The question I have is does the domestic WS-10A have the punch to get the J-11H/J-15 off a ski jump comfortably. Another thing is its fairly well known that China has experimented with steam catapults (apparently stripped) from HMAS Melbourne and its certainly a technology they are capable of replicating and offers some advantages in relation to airgroup operations, I could see an indiginous carrier being fitted with steam catapults.

Why not a production line in Taiwan under a secret project, a top secret fighter development with Western inputs?

Strike the enemy where it hurts the most.

Thats exactly what the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo was and is!

A locally produced fighter with major foreign (American) input. Design, subsystem development and major components were subcontracted to US companies.

U.S. House Seapower Chair Wants Ship-Retirement Limits

U.S. House Armed Services seapower panel chairman Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., will work to insert language into the 2011 defense authorization bill requiring the U.S. Navy to replace every two warships it retires in the coming years with three brand-new ships. It’s a move designed to get to a 313-ship fleet.

“There have now been at least three [Chiefs of Naval Operations] who tell us that they need a minimum of 313 ships and yet they submit budget requests that don’t get them anywhere near that – in fact, this request would actually take us backward by about four ships if enacted,” Taylor told reporters May 13 after his subcommittee’s mark of the bill.

Taylor went on to say that he will also work to keep two 30-year-old Tarawa Class amphibious assault ships, the USS Nassau and USS Peleliu, in commission since “they still have about 10 years of life left.”
Full Story

Giant Seagull attacks Tarawa class ship…!

OTO-Melera tried the concept with the Otomatic 76mm AAA tank.

It didn’t sell!

What a pointless debatte. Rafale F3 already blows every current Typhoon out of the water. An upgraded and enhanced F4 would even more dominate the Typhoon, which has no upgrade path.

Woooohah! Naational bias kicks in…:diablo:

I think you will find that the Typhoon is so amazing it makes the Rafale look like a paper aeroplane…:D

Hasn’t the Su33 deal collapsed Ja?

As far as I am aware the PLAN are testing a J11 variant.