PLAN Aircraft Carrier programme...(Closed)
- Thread starter bd popeye
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Has this been posted before?
"Do you know why the Liaoning has been numbered 16?" Xu asked. "....It was because we spent 16 years getting the job done, from making the deal to rebuilding it."
One small step by a smart man, one big leap for China's Navy - Mission impossible: How one man bought China its first aircraft carrier.
Xu Zengping reveals for the first time the negotiations behind buying the Liaoning for the PLA Navy - and the secret behind its engines. It was a mission like no other. In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse, one businessman armed with cash and a casino cover story scooped the world to buy the unfinished hulk of a Ukrainian aircraft carrier that would become the centrepiece of the PLA Navy.
Speaking to the media for the first time, the Hong Kong-based businessman at the heart of the undertaking reveals in a two-part series the details of the little-known, behind-the-scenes odyssey to realise China's long-held dream of owning such a warship.
Xu Zengping disclosed that the militarily sensitive original engines of the carrier were intact when Ukraine sold the vessel in 1998. This is contrary to what Beijing told the world at the time.
The "four intact engines had been perfectly grease-sealed" after work stopped on the vessel in 1992, presenting an enticing engineering package for a country seeking a leg up for its military.
It is the first time anyone linked to the deal has confirmed publicly the engines were in place at the time of purchase. Earlier reports said the vessel's power generation system was removed at Ukraine's Nikolayev South Shipyard on the Black Sea along with its electronics and weaponry before Xu bought it in 1998 for US$20 million.
"When I was taken to the carrier's engine room by the shipyard's chief engineer, I found all four engines were brand new and carefully grease-sealed, each of them originally costing US$20 million," Xu said. He said a refit finished in 2011 restored the four engines to operating condition.
What is now called the Liaoning was built on the hull of the partially completed Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier, the Varyag. The Black Sea shipyard was about two-thirds of the way through the vessel's construction when work stopped as the Soviet Union crumbled. The hull languished until Xu made the deal, acting as a middleman for interests within the PLA Navy.
Xu said the shipyard agreed to sell the vessel because of the political turmoil that had left it in dire financial straits.
"The Chinese side deliberately released false information about the removal of the engines to make it easier for Xu and the shipyard to negotiate," a source familiar with the deal told the South China Morning Post.
Western media also reported that the United States pressured Ukraine to remove everything on board the carrier, selling only the hull to the Chinese buyer, the source added.
A retired PLA Navy colonel said it was "very likely" that the Liaoning was still using the original Ukrainian engines. "The Ukrainian engine technology is better than China's," the retired officer said. "It's my understanding that our navy later sought help from Ukraine to get the carrier engines, which had been sealed up for years, up and running."
Buying the carrier was just the start. It took another four years to tow it from Ukraine to Dalian in Liaoning province, and more than a decade to fit it out.
Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong said that after years of negotiations, the Black Sea shipyard also transferred their engine technology to China's Harbin Turbine Company, a manufacturing plant specialising in military boilers, turbines and steam equipment.
There were signs that the engines had been improved.
"The original propulsion system designed for the Liaoning was the same as that of the Russian Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier with a top speed of 32 knots. But the Liaoning is 6,000 tonnes heavier, so logically it would be slower," Wong said. "But recent sea trials showed the Liaoning's top speed was as fast as 32 knots, indicating its propulsion system has been upgraded."
The carrier was renamed Liaoning when it was formally delivered to the PLA in September 2012 and so far has been used only for training.Its pennant number - a type of naval identification - is 16.
- SCMP
"Do you know why the Liaoning has been numbered 16?" Xu asked. "....It was because we spent 16 years getting the job done, from making the deal to rebuilding it."
One small step by a smart man, one big leap for China's Navy - Mission impossible: How one man bought China its first aircraft carrier.
Xu Zengping reveals for the first time the negotiations behind buying the Liaoning for the PLA Navy - and the secret behind its engines. It was a mission like no other. In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse, one businessman armed with cash and a casino cover story scooped the world to buy the unfinished hulk of a Ukrainian aircraft carrier that would become the centrepiece of the PLA Navy.
Speaking to the media for the first time, the Hong Kong-based businessman at the heart of the undertaking reveals in a two-part series the details of the little-known, behind-the-scenes odyssey to realise China's long-held dream of owning such a warship.
Xu Zengping disclosed that the militarily sensitive original engines of the carrier were intact when Ukraine sold the vessel in 1998. This is contrary to what Beijing told the world at the time.
The "four intact engines had been perfectly grease-sealed" after work stopped on the vessel in 1992, presenting an enticing engineering package for a country seeking a leg up for its military.
It is the first time anyone linked to the deal has confirmed publicly the engines were in place at the time of purchase. Earlier reports said the vessel's power generation system was removed at Ukraine's Nikolayev South Shipyard on the Black Sea along with its electronics and weaponry before Xu bought it in 1998 for US$20 million.
"When I was taken to the carrier's engine room by the shipyard's chief engineer, I found all four engines were brand new and carefully grease-sealed, each of them originally costing US$20 million," Xu said. He said a refit finished in 2011 restored the four engines to operating condition.
What is now called the Liaoning was built on the hull of the partially completed Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier, the Varyag. The Black Sea shipyard was about two-thirds of the way through the vessel's construction when work stopped as the Soviet Union crumbled. The hull languished until Xu made the deal, acting as a middleman for interests within the PLA Navy.
Xu said the shipyard agreed to sell the vessel because of the political turmoil that had left it in dire financial straits.
"The Chinese side deliberately released false information about the removal of the engines to make it easier for Xu and the shipyard to negotiate," a source familiar with the deal told the South China Morning Post.
Western media also reported that the United States pressured Ukraine to remove everything on board the carrier, selling only the hull to the Chinese buyer, the source added.
A retired PLA Navy colonel said it was "very likely" that the Liaoning was still using the original Ukrainian engines. "The Ukrainian engine technology is better than China's," the retired officer said. "It's my understanding that our navy later sought help from Ukraine to get the carrier engines, which had been sealed up for years, up and running."
Buying the carrier was just the start. It took another four years to tow it from Ukraine to Dalian in Liaoning province, and more than a decade to fit it out.
Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong said that after years of negotiations, the Black Sea shipyard also transferred their engine technology to China's Harbin Turbine Company, a manufacturing plant specialising in military boilers, turbines and steam equipment.
There were signs that the engines had been improved.
"The original propulsion system designed for the Liaoning was the same as that of the Russian Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier with a top speed of 32 knots. But the Liaoning is 6,000 tonnes heavier, so logically it would be slower," Wong said. "But recent sea trials showed the Liaoning's top speed was as fast as 32 knots, indicating its propulsion system has been upgraded."
The carrier was renamed Liaoning when it was formally delivered to the PLA in September 2012 and so far has been used only for training.Its pennant number - a type of naval identification - is 16.
- SCMP
The issue here is that if the purchase was backed by the government for military use, it would never have been sold to China.
From a conspiracy perspective, would the seller have believed the sale would be used for non military purpose if earlier Minsk purchases did not pave the way? The investors of Minsk world also lost money.
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thunderchief
Senior Member
Nevertheless, they could have reimbursed funds to Mr.Zengping after he managed to tow ship to China .
Brumby
Major
I can hear the wheel spinning on this. How hard is it to write a cheque to reimburse if the intention was there? The amount to write is secondary.
More gossip on new carrier:
Reports that China is set to construct a second aircraft carrier, which were leaked online on Saturday, have been carefully removed from all websites where it was mentioned.
The message that the Chinese city of Changzhou is set to focus on promoting some major programs in 2015 and that Jiangsu Shangshang Cable Group is “winning the contract for China’s second aircraft carrier” appeared in the city government's microblog on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like Chinese microblogging service this past weekend.
The message was posted by the Information Office of the Changzhou government at 9:07 am on Saturday, according to the English-language website of China Radio International.
The same piece of news was later published in the newspaper Changzhou Evening News on the same day.
Both reports were later deleted.
The Communist Party secretary of Liaoning Province, Wang Min, also said that the country was already working on the second ship, which is to be completed around 2020, according to the website of Channel NewsAsia.
However, the country's authorities ordered that all reports of Wang's remarks be deleted, the website says.
China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was commissioned in September 2012. Originally christened the Riga, the Admiral Kuznetsov-class ship was designated as a multirole aircraft carrier for the Soviet Navy. The vessel was launched on December 4, 1988, and renamed Varyag in 1990.
China purchased the stripped hulk in 1998 from Ukraine and completely rebuilt the ship at Dalian Shipyard in northeastern China.
A Chinese defense ministry spokesperson has said that Liaoning may not be the only aircraft carrier China intends to have in its fleet.
Reports that China is set to construct a second aircraft carrier, which were leaked online on Saturday, have been carefully removed from all websites where it was mentioned.
The message that the Chinese city of Changzhou is set to focus on promoting some major programs in 2015 and that Jiangsu Shangshang Cable Group is “winning the contract for China’s second aircraft carrier” appeared in the city government's microblog on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like Chinese microblogging service this past weekend.
The message was posted by the Information Office of the Changzhou government at 9:07 am on Saturday, according to the English-language website of China Radio International.
The same piece of news was later published in the newspaper Changzhou Evening News on the same day.
Both reports were later deleted.
The Communist Party secretary of Liaoning Province, Wang Min, also said that the country was already working on the second ship, which is to be completed around 2020, according to the website of Channel NewsAsia.
However, the country's authorities ordered that all reports of Wang's remarks be deleted, the website says.
China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was commissioned in September 2012. Originally christened the Riga, the Admiral Kuznetsov-class ship was designated as a multirole aircraft carrier for the Soviet Navy. The vessel was launched on December 4, 1988, and renamed Varyag in 1990.
China purchased the stripped hulk in 1998 from Ukraine and completely rebuilt the ship at Dalian Shipyard in northeastern China.
A Chinese defense ministry spokesperson has said that Liaoning may not be the only aircraft carrier China intends to have in its fleet.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!
And they have jobs...
And they have jobs...
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