Re: China Su-30 thread
tphuang said:
actually, the maximum range of R-77 is probably 100KM (so, it can theoretically go that far), but that's not the maximum effective range of R-77.
I guess it depends on what profile you are measuring the range under. Different profiles, different range.
Anyway, having looked over the article and examined it more carefully, the stuff about Lanzhou getting a new regiment is just junk. Seriously, the photos for the 19th division
clearly shows that the flankers with serial number 30106 and 30107 are for this division. Not the 37th or 47th division as mentionned by Kanwa. This is getting sad. Their analysis is based on the flankers' background.
Yes quite sad.
I do have to add that Lanzhou MR already has J-11s, but KANWA didn't know that the 6th Division---which is reported to have J-11s even as back as 2004---happens to belong to Lanzhou MR.
Hui Tong's pic of J-11 10574
is a J-11 belonging to the 6th Division assigned Lanzhou MR.
The thing is, the 6th Division hardly gets any media coverage compared to the other Flanker equipped divisions, so it may finally be getting some overdue coverage.
Having 19th Division planes pictures in the Kong Jun Bao article only means three things---
1. The KJB editors are lazy and is just using the 19th Division pics as file pictures to visually embellish the article. In the press it's called a file picture and is only meant to furbish an article in a generic sense.
2. The next is that 19th Division J-11s and Su-27s, many of which are old, are being transferred to Lanzhou. Lanzhou MR is way west, and away from the front lines. It's a good place to deposit older planes, while formations in the east upgrade to new planes. The 19th Division has a front row seat in the east. There is some speculation that the older Su-27s in the 2nd Division had the same fate.
3. The last possibility is that the 19th Division is there in Lanzhou to participate in wargames. The area in the back of China is good for wargaming due to the abundance of space and environment, much like the west in the US.
My gut feeling is #1. The KJB article is just finally giving the 6th Division its media due but using file pics which were of the 19th Division. Since Kanwa didn't know about the 6th Division, it just seems "first time" for him. Which makes me think he is even more clueless than I previously assumed.
If there is any new J-11 assignments it is probably in a new base in Liancheng, in Fujien province. This is just across the straits. There was a Taiwan news report about this in December 2005, and a PLA article about J-11s exercising from a new location. Recently, satellite photos have indeed confirmed the presence of Sues in this location.
As for the 47th, I don't think it is active any longer. The 37th Division is something to watch out for though. It has a J-7E regiment, a J-7B/H one and recently a J-7G conversion. As I said before, a J-7 regiment is prime candidate for a J-10 or J-11 conversion in the future.