Engineer
Major
The gap isn't so wide, if there is a gap at all. While Japan's fleet looks impressive in quantity of ships, Japan's navy does not have all parts as China does. Sum of all parts from China already changed the balance.
PLAN Aircraft Carrier programme...(Closed)
- Thread starter bd popeye
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The gap isn't so wide, if there is a gap at all. While Japan's fleet looks impressive in quantity of ships, Japan's navy does not have all parts as China does. Sum of all parts from China already changed the balance.
Now you know why the Chinese Carrier Group in the South China sea were upset with the USS Cowpens last time, because
she was trying to photobomb the PLAN while the task force was trying to do their photo op and look good on camera.
Come to think of it, I'm wondering whether there are any LSTs lying outside the photo range or if this photo op was done after/before the completion of exercises with the LSTs.
I think we are a bit fixated on the "message" which tends to be a common response whenever an impressive new PLA toy or something comes up.
I don't think there is anything drastically political underlying these pictures or their date of release (possibly apart from celebrating the new year a little). I mean they were going to conduct an exercise on this scale sooner or later, and there would inevitably have been pictures.
I don't think there is anything drastically political underlying these pictures or their date of release (possibly apart from celebrating the new year a little). I mean they were going to conduct an exercise on this scale sooner or later, and there would inevitably have been pictures.
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
No question the JMSDF has a warship tonnage second to none
However right now after USN France has the best carrier strike group they have Hawkeys and plus can add in two further Mistral Class out of three they have
Add in the vast FFG and DDG fleet plus SSN and SSBN and the tankers they can have hell of a carrier strike group with the Rafale
However they have only few years to go before the Royal Navy trumps them with two huge Queen Elizabeth carriers plus HMS Ocean LHD and two further LPDs the HMS Albion and Bulwark backed by four new MARS tankers FFG and DDG
Everyone is having a flat top party these days things are getting very interesting
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
No question about it, PLAN now has enough to get a big formation going, can get two Type 071 LPD out with scores of FFG and DDG plus the auxiliary units to go with them as well as the sub-surface forces
All these years of building and now it's paid off, if this was 2009 and it was the 60th anniversary we could expect upwards of 15 warships sailing along with the carrier they certainly have the numbers for it
All the need to do is train with them
Hell's bell's USN carrier sailors would be jealous. especially looking at the berthing. Staterooms for enlisted men? C'mon! No such thing in the USN..Nadda..
Say kwaigonegin, I don't know what division you were aboard on CVN-72 but I lived in a 167 man berthing on JFK.. trust me ..it kinda sucked. And it did not smell so good. But you get use to it.
That berthing on JFK was right under the forward mess decks..nice..
My point was that this does not mean Abe and the Japanese leadership are soiling themselves over it. They have seen it coming...and knew well before we saw the pictures what the PLAN was doing in the SCS.
And they are clearly concerned about it, and planning as best they can to counter it. The Japanese have an impressive capability, and have been building up as best they can in response...though they do not have the type of funds that the PRC has thrown at this over the last few years, and cannot keep up in those terms.
I expect the Izumo will commission late this year or early next, and then late next year the 2nd one will be launched. However, unless and until the JMSDF purchases or builds STOVL aircraft like the F-35B, those vessels will not be able to contend with the Liaoning or her future sisters and their J-15s. The Hyugas were never meant to.
And that is precisely the message the PLAN intends. Add a couple of submarines to that mix, possibly both SSNs.
The point is, the PLAN is saying, look here, we can put together this powerful force of vessels into a combined fleet to send where we please, and STILL cover all of our other bases. And unspoken is the obvious plan and intent to not have one or two of those types of forces available, but within 16-18 years to have 3-5 of them.
No one else, outside the US Navy, can definitively say that they are capable of going that far.
The Indians will cap off theirs at three, and that will be impressive. But is will not be five, and their carriers will be smaller (outside of possibly the third one).
The Chinese, in the space of the last ten years, have gone from a brown water Navy to a Navy capable of projecting significant power into the blue water very, very soon.
And the PLAN is ensuring, if other nations didn't already recognize it, that they all cannot help but see it now. These photos tell that story.
That is just impressive.Some more
It is the type of display, that for the last 20 years and more, only the US Navy has been capable of making.
A very nice grouping...and one we all here on SD knew was coming.
Blackstone
Brigadier
Well said, Jeff. China should keep an eagle eye on Japan and keep in mind the reality that currently, the Japanese Navy is second only to the USN in capability.
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