That is just impressive.
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.
The PLAN certainly don't do things in half measures. Before yesterday I don't think we had any pictures of the Liaoning sailing with escorts.
I was wondering when we'd get to see the two 051Cs and two 054As from NSF alongside Liaoning, then suddenly we get virtually a destroyer flotilla's worth of escorts with some from SSF, two submarines, land based air power, and an 071 as well!
Of course, we don't know how long this little task group trained and stayed together for, and it's easier to deploy a larger number of ships closer to home and gets progressively more difficult as you get into blue water. For instance, while I'm confident they have more than enough escorts to operationally deploy such a group, I don't doubt the PLAN has the AORs in service atm to support such a group for a two or three month deployment, even if it may stretch their AOR numbers a little.
(For instance this group would need what... two or three AORs of the PLAN to support a 2-3 month at sea mission, assuming a few ships of the group will cycle to nearby ports for a few days both to give sailors time off and to take on their own supplies?)
However by 2020 I'm sure they'll have the auxiliary numbers to reliably deploy such a group.
I wonder how the western defense media will pick up on these pictures.
No doubt they will (rightfully) note the lack of aircraft on the carrier's deck, but I think even though would recognize how formidable and rare such a grouping of ships is outside of the USN.
I hope they're familiar enough with the PLAN to recognize that the escorts in these pictures are only a fraction of what the PLAN currently have and not some vain or unrealistic grouping that was only put together for the sake of a "propaganda photo".
