take a look at the map and see where the helicopters are taking from and then make a judgment. I mean it's easy for people to state how many Chinese jets can fly across, but think about where they are taking off and landing?
Type 081 LHD
- Thread starter Sczepan
- Start date
- Status
Pointblank
Senior Member
The shortest path may not be the best path; the Taiwanese would probably have men standing at the coast armed with MANPAD's to ruin a helicopter's day.
Also, the Mi-17 is not ship-capable; you either have to plunk it down on a large, stable flight deck, or you will have to fit something like a haul down device to land it on a small deck. When I mean a large, stable flight deck, I am talking about something akin to a aircraft carrier.
200km radius is not enough for an invasion scenario. You need more, for reserves, emergency fuel, etc.
I would rather use the PLA's transport aircraft and have paratroopers jump out of them, while using the large transport aircraft to drop armoured vehicles in via LAPES into secured landing zones. Transport aircraft can carry more, have good range and are a lot faster in this case, which adds to the element of surprise.
szbd
Junior Member
I'm thinking of landing on the high land to the north of Taipei. If PLA wants to land in the south, they can take Penghu first. Also I said China can put some semi submersible ships in the straight for refueling.
Pointblank
Senior Member
1. Find a nice, flat plain, that is undefended, and the ground is reasonably solid. Then find the nearest PLA airfield. Find the distance.
2. See previous comment about the Mi-17 not ship capable.
szbd
Junior Member
The semi submersible ship is a large, stable flight deck. The area of deck is comparable to a carrier and the ship is as stable as a rock in the sea. The paratroopers is another issue, not related to the necessity of LHA.
szbd
Junior Member
The high land to the north of Taipei is a nice, flat plain and the ground is reasonably solid, also it's not a densely populated area. If it's undefended or not will depends on the situation at the time. And you can hardly find a better place for chopper assult in Taiwan.
Pointblank
Senior Member
Have you landed a helicopter on a ship deck before? What makes you say that it is easy? I've seen a Sea King landing on a 4,770 ton frigate before in sea state 3. In order to land the helicopter, they needed to use the RAST to safety land the helicopter, as the ship was pitching and rolling, which makes landing difficult.
Also, submarines are not known for their stability on the surface; they easily roll due to their design. Any slight wave will make a submarine roll, and you can forget about landing a helicopter on one.
szbd
Junior Member
Semi submersible ship is totally different from submarine. It is something like this:
China has 2 large ones and maybe a dozen smaller ones. This thing is mainly used to transport super big equipment and take off or install oil drilling plant on the sea. China used the two ships to take the kilos from Russia to China, each ship can carry two kilos. Build a higher deck (if necessary) over this ship's deck will provide a much more stable platform than an LHA.
China has 2 large ones and maybe a dozen smaller ones. This thing is mainly used to transport super big equipment and take off or install oil drilling plant on the sea. China used the two ships to take the kilos from Russia to China, each ship can carry two kilos. Build a higher deck (if necessary) over this ship's deck will provide a much more stable platform than an LHA.
Pointblank
Senior Member
These things are never stable; they require constant trimming to keep stable even under calm conditions. And their stability problems are increased by the nature of the Taiwan Strait, which has very strong tidal currents. Such currents will in effect push the ship around, and the station keeping necessary plus the tidal currents to keep the ship in place will cause some rolling.
Said ship will also be easily within range of Taiwanese anti-ship defences. That includes shore base SSM's and air launched weapons. And because these ships are civil-spec'ed ships, they will easily sink in an attack. If I were planning an operation, I would not depend on having that platform to refuel from in case it was attacked. I plan for a trip out and a return trip without refueling if I can't depend on a location mid-way to refuel from.
You can't just find a flat deck on a ship and plunk a helicopter on it. No. That deck has to be strengthened and then a non-slip coating has to be painted onto the deck to prevent the helicopter from sliding about. Also, top weight is also a concern.
szbd
Junior Member
I think you got it wrong. The semi submersible ships are very stable in nature, they are the most stable ships in the world. The two Chinese modern ones can be operated with very few people and even remotely controled. One Chinese semi submersible ship took a floating production storage and offloading oil ship from China to Brazil, how could it do that if it's not stable?
For the taiwan AShM problems, that's the same for LHA.
For the strong and non-slip deck, just build one. The payload (note, not displacement) of the modern Chinese semi submersible ship is 18,000 tons. They are designed to carry those crazy big and high stuff. The top weight is not a concern.
For the taiwan AShM problems, that's the same for LHA.
For the strong and non-slip deck, just build one. The payload (note, not displacement) of the modern Chinese semi submersible ship is 18,000 tons. They are designed to carry those crazy big and high stuff. The top weight is not a concern.
- Status