Sino-Russia Joint Military Exercise

[Max Demian]

Sino-Russian Military Maneuver A Great Commercial Opportunity For Moscow

by Peter Harmsen

Beijing (AFP) Aug 24, 2005
For Russia's sprawling military industrial complex, it may be the sales pitch of the year that reaches a stirring finale when "Peace Mission 2005," the joint maneuver with China, wraps up on Thursday.
While 10,000 officers and men from the Russian and Chinese militaries have engaged in eight long days and nights of war games, commercial concerns have been very near the top of the Kremlin's agenda, observers said.

"They will tell the Chinese 'look at how effective our weapons are', so this should help Russia promote its weapons systems," said Arthur Ding, an expert on the Chinese military at Taiwan's National Chengchi University.

"The Russian defense industry has been in bad shape since the end of the Cold War, so they need money from China to revitalize," he said.

China, which boasts more than 700 billion dollars in foreign exchange reserves - the world's second-largest after Japan - has indeed helped keep the Russian armament industry afloat for years.

With sales of up to three billion dollars a year, Russia has supplied 85 percent of China's arms imports since the early 1990s, becoming a "significant enabler of China's military modernization," according to the Pentagon.

"Russian conventional weapon technology transfers ... have advanced the lethality of every major category of weapon system under development in China," the Pentagon said in its annual report on China's military last month.

"Peace Mission 2005" is the first major joint Sino-Russian war game involving all three services, and it has helped drive home the fact that Russia has all a country needs to wage a modern war on land, at sea or in the air.

Using military maneuvers in this way to persuade other countries to buy more hardware may strike the layman as an odd blurring of distinctions between security and mercantile concerns, but it is quite common, analysts said.

"It's something that every country interested in export sales does. Every US exercise has a commercial aspect to it," said Robert Karniol, the Bangkok-based Asia-Pacific editor for Jane's Defence Weekly.

While in pure dollar terms Moscow stands to gain more from the drill, Russian media have reported that China has in fact paid for the entire exercise.

It is possible that Beijing has valued the drill's potential for intimidating Taiwan, an island that it claims as part of its territory, some observers said.

Significantly, a naval blockade simulation, one of the key scenarios for a conflict across the Taiwan Straits if tensions boil over one day, formed a major part of the exercise.

"China is sending a signal to Taiwan not to go down the road to independence and to the United States not to push (China) into a corner by backing Taiwan independence forces," said Ding.

But even so, China's objectives for "Peace Mission 2005" are probably broader than merely deterring the island, according to observers.

China has built up an impressive military inventory - everything from multi-role fighters to advanced surface-to-air-missiles - but it is still behind in the crucial software of modern war.

By this experts mean China's ability to use the weaponry efficiently and in a coordinated manner, involving a variety of unit types at the same time.

"China needs to develop better capabilities for its air force, navy and land forces to operate together. During these exercises they can study how Russia does this," said Ding.

Amphibious warfare, the immensely complex operation of putting troops ashore under enemy fire, is an example of a field where China hopes to gain more experience, not least because this is how Taiwan may one day be taken.

"The Chinese certainly have an interest in improving their amphibious capabilities and have in the recent past sought access to amphibious exercises by the Americans and the South Koreans," said Karniol.

So, what do you guys think of this „little“ exercise? Quite a nice show judging from the photos available. Air, land and sea forces in full coordination achieving air-superiority, sea denial and behind enemy lines deployment prior to the full blown amphibious assault. I must say those BMP-3s the Russians used are one awesome IFVs. So much firepower on such a light vehicle… One other cool weapon platform used was the supersonic strategic bomber Tu-22M3 Backfire carrying long-range land attack and anti-ship cruise missiles. China has clearly shown interest in procuring this aircraft as it would tremendously strengthen it’s ability to conduct stand-off air raids against US Carrier Battle groups (though I doubt the Russians would be willing to sell their 400km range Mach 2.5 cruising anti-ship missiles to them). As much as 40 of these planes were mentioned to be negotiated for trade. Other sophisticated Russian equipment being used includes a Beriev/Ilyushin A-50 early warning aircraft, which is said to be able to monitor any aircraft within 2,000 kilometers (!) from the center of the exercise. (probably with conjuction with a few more EWs, since such an extreme detection range is somewhat hard to believe – curvature of the Earth, bla, bla, etc...) Some observers see this as significant as China is reported to have sought to buy this aircraft from Russia after a planned purchase of a similar Israeli plane failed to materialize, reportedly over US objections.
China is believed to be actively pursuing improved early warning capabilities to boost its power in the air and improve its own chances of winning a war in the Taiwan Straits.

Already, the Chinese are awaiting delivery of two new missile destroyers (with a possibility of buying two more, as well as having two Sovremmenys since late 90's – which would make six very capable vessels..) from Russia along with a batch of 8 SSK Kilo submarines (two of which have been delivered this year), another batch of Su-30 MKK strike fighters specifically tailored for naval assault and probably some more SU-27 derivatives for air superiority roles (like Su-35). But what's even more interesting is how much their own indigenous military industry has evolved, especially so when naval vessels are concerned. Four modern destroyers (two 052B multipurpose and two 052C Aegis type) and two frigates have entered service in the last two years (with two more 051C on the way), all of which boast very capable AA and ASW capabilities (also of indigenous design).

If Taiwan is to declare independence it probably should do so now, while they still have the time… "“LET CHINA SLEEP, FOR WHEN THE DRAGON AWAKES, THE WORLD WILL TREMBLE"...Napoleon Bonaparte

 

[Jebus]

Is this going to be one of those 'what if China and the US went to war?' theads again?

Because we already had a dozen of those.

 

[alec]

Yeah, we already had a dozen of those.

*pats Jebus on the back*

 

[Dapper Dan Man]

I just find it rather amusing that Russia is selling arms to one of the few nations that pose a legitimate threat to a resurgent Russian hegemony in Eurasia. They are quite possibly selling the very weapons to be used against them in a war perhaps for Siberia, among other things.

 

[Max Demian]

I just find it rather amusing that Russia is selling arms to one of the few nations that pose a legitimate threat to a resurgent Russian hegemony in Eurasia. They are quite possibly selling the very weapons to be used against them in a war perhaps for Siberia, among other things.

They have little choice if they're to keep their military industry running and more importantly fund their research projects. And the weapons they've sold them hardly present any significant threat to the Russian armed forces, especially so since the Chinese have no chance of attaining air superiority against their Mig-31 interceptors and Su-35 air superiority fighters (which easily outperform the F-15E). But putting those things aside, this exercise makes room for the possibilty of joint peacekeeping operations in the Asia-Pacific , because in the event of a conflict, it is expected the U.N. Security Council should mandate Russia and China to deploy peacekeepers in the region.

This eight-day exercise is based on a scenario in which the two countries, acting under U.N. authority, aim to stabilize a country in the midst of ethnic strife. Go figure that.
Izvestia, a respected daily, suggested that China and Russia could be practicing a mission to invade North Korea, should Kim Jong-il's leadership collapse.

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - China is planning to buy around 30 Il-76 planes from Russia, a source in the Russian defense industry said. "The Russian-Chinese commission for military and technical cooperation will discuss China's purchase of some 30 Il-76 planes from Russia and the possibility of buying Il-78 planes at a September session," the source said.

Chinese, Russian troops launch forced isolation drill

www.chinaview.cn 2005-08-25 14:56:39


WEIFANG, Shandong, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese and Russian troops launched a forced isolation drill in east China's Shandong Province Thursday as the last item of actual combat in the joint military exercise dubbed "Peace Mission 2005".

At 11:00 a.m., two Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers flew near the drill zone after two and a half hours flight from Russia, which unfolded the forced isolation drill.

At that point, an A-50 early warning plane took off to establish the airborne early warning system. Other segments of thetroops also went into operation.

At 11:07, four Tu-22M3 Russian long-range bombers from Russia also entered the drill zone and launched continuous attacks on theairport of the "enemy troops".

Immediately after that, the airborne formation sent 18 fighter jets in nine batches to attack the enemy troops, commanding posts and defense works in the depth.

At 11:17, the artillery began to bombard the frontline defense works and other targets in the depths of the enemy region. Meanwhile, bombs carrying propaganda materials were fired to the enemy region.

After the attacks, the enemy forces began to readjust their deployment and retreated to the airport and key positions in the depths.

At 11:26, a formation of 10 IL-76 transport planes carrying Chinese and Russian paratroops arrived at the airspace of the combat zone covered by electronic-jamming planes and fighter jets.

At 11:38, the transport planes began to drop combat vehicles for the paratroops and in less than 10 minutes, 24 combat vehicleshad been dropped. After that, 86 Chinese and Russian paratroops dropped to the ground from a height of 800 meters.

The paratroops quickly gathered around the fighting vehicles and got ready to attack pre-set targets. They launched operations and captured the airport, cutting off the air link of the enemy.

At 11:53, a transport helicopter arrived at the dropping zone on the right of the enemy region under the cover of air fire and let out troops, who immediately launched attack on the pre-set targets to cut off the the enemy's link to sea.

Immediately after the air link and route to sea of the enemy were cut off, the Sino-Russian joint forces sent rangers to attackthe defense line of the enemy under fire cover and quickly made breakthroughs in several spots.

At 12:15, scores of armored vehicles from the southeast and southwest rumbled quickly to the depth of the enemy region.

The Sino-Russian forces has successfully established the forcedisolation zone on land through sending picked troops to make breakthroughs, launching multi-point attacks, thrusting troops into the depth of the enemy region to isolate, surround and annihilate the enemy troops.

Although the enemy troops still put up a desperate struggle, their failure has become a foregone conclusion.

Chinese defense minister Cao Gangchuan and his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov were at the drill zone to observe and issue instructions.

Other observers included Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov,Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairullaev, Kazakh Deputy Defense Minister Abai Tasbulatov and Uzbekistan Deputy Defense Minister R.Niyazov. Enditem

Chinese and Russian troops braved bad weather to launch amphibious landing exercise

PLA Daily 2005-08-25

The 14-hour-long winds and rains served as a prelude to the Sino-Russia amphibious landing exercise.

　　Standing on a height in Langyatai, the reporter had a panoramic view of the battlefield. On the left side, the sky was overcast over the Longwan Bay, an ancient battlefield, and the sea and the sky had merged into one with mighty waves beating at the shore. In the front and on the right side, the undulating green mountains were enveloped in the clouds and misty rain. According to the weather forecast by the command post: power of wind is force 4-5 while the wave tide is 2 m to 3.5 m high. The weather is really bad for military exercise.

　　At 11:00am sharp, three red flares were fired, which signaled the start of the battle. Six batches of Chinese jet fighters took off one by one to launch air strike against "enemy" shore-to-ship missile positions. Soon jet fighters soared into clouds. Seconds later " horrendous thunders" were heard in the sky, and various heights on the battlefield were permeated with flames, tall plumes of smoke. Under the cover of air firepower, the offshore combat groups started to deploy.

　　At 11:25am, the amphibious assault forces began to jump off, and the engineers on assault boats began to demolish the obstacles on the shoal. Through the telescope, the reporter saw that over 10 assault boats were bobbing over the waves, and as wind was strong, it looked as if they could be overturned by big waves at any time.

　　At 11:30am, two Chinese armed helicopters flew up at low altitude over the sea and used their firepower to open up a landing field. Shortly afterwards, three large Chinese transporters carrying parachutists flew through thick clouds one by one. On No.6 Height at the front, a group of parachutes could be seen descending slowly from the sky.　　

　　 Almost at the same time, 18 Chinese transport-helicopters flew over the No.1 and the No.4 Heights. They hovered in the air, and then their cabin doors opened, a group of soldiers in full combat gear swiftly slid down the ropes and accurately descended on the ground. Meanwhile, a diving team was busy detonating remaining underwater obstacles on the beach. With the support of warships firepower at sea, and fire cover provided by jet fighters and helicopters in the air, some troops were seizing the beach while other troops were landing from transporters and helicopters amid the thunderous explosions and dense palls of smoke, presenting a spectacular scene of the 3-D battlefield. 　　

　　By 11:42am, all the obstacles on the beach were removed, and the passages were opened up. A Chinese amphibious armored battalion successfully seized and landed on the beach. At the same time, the Russian amphibious APC carrying mariners speeded towards the heights. As indicated by various colored exploding points on several heights, the enemy firepower had been neutralized. Under the cover of the Chinese and Russian combat vehicles, mariners got off from their vehicles and started to assault along the rugged and muddy mountain paths towards the mountaintop. At 11:50am, the amphibious combat vehicles opened fire, and all six anti-tank missiles hit the targets. Soon afterwards, rockets fired from six helicopters turned the whole mountaintop into a sea of flames. The China-Russia joint forces had deployed in a synchronized way to launch three-dimensional attack to breakthrough "enemy" defense. 　　

　　The wind was high and rain heavy. The reporter saw in the joint command post that six Chinese and Russian commanding groups were working simultaneously. The orders from them were swiftly turning the compagin decisions of the joint command post into combat action…

　　By Jiang Wanliu and Ding Haiming

　　(Aug. 25, PLA Daily)

 

[The Commissar]

They are quite possibly selling the very weapons to be used against them in a war.

Like the US has never done that. Really, all the popular superpowers are doing it now a days. Its cool.

 

[Bradylama]

Soviet Surplus has been enabling nasties for generations, anyways. Why buck the trend?

 

[Max Demian]

Soviet Surplus has been enabling nasties for generations, anyways. Why buck the trend?

Since when the Chinese are what you'd call "nasties"? That's not what they taught us back then in Yugoslavia...

 

[4too]

On Sale Soon!

On Sale Soon!



What goes around, comes around.


Don't despair Americans.

While your favorite (former) PC (politically correct) PC (personal computer) Taiwanese vendors may be co-opted or vaporized, knock offs of their product lines will be sure to surface at your local Walmart.
Labeled ""The East Is Red - INC."" no doubt.

Never worry that the dollars spend on cheap China consumer items featured at your local Walmart are feeding the economy of ANY nation that would modernize it's military and twist the arm of ANY , ancient, faded, wrinkled old Cold War ally.
(Really now, what has Taiwan done for us, the U. S., lately, how any Billions of barrels of oil, how many divisions of 'boots' for the Coalition of The Willing.. )


Never worry that, that air freshener dangling from your SUV rear view mirror may be of "People's Republic" origin. Never consider, that it's most active (latent) chemical action might be more persuasive to a 'new world-order' than all the mythic qualities of fluoride in American municipal drinking water.

Don't despair Americans.

Your local NRA Militia may have to wait for 400 km range, SUV platform ready, cruise missiles. Implied in the text above. These mobile, SUV mounted missiles, will be SO necessary to interdict the communist-islamic terrorists.
The communist-islamic terrorists that are infiltrating amongst the latest waves of unauthorized latino "guest workers" and lurking in oil shipments from Venezuela ....

Never worry, there may soon be a 'sportsman' version of the latest AK-47 knock off, just in time for your local - deer - season.
A pseudo semi auto on first appearance, this 'transformer', only needs a few optional accessories to fulfill all your light infantry, wet, dreams...

As the once United States - Balkanizes - into Red and Blue (and White), petty fiefdoms ... circling the wagons, the SUV's, against "home invasions".

At ease America, "" love is just a shot away"". **

True love. from the ""barrel of a gun"" ***


**(TM - RollingStones - INC.)

***(TM - ChairmanMao - INC.)








4too

 

[Colt]

Re: On Sale Soon!

Never worry, there may soon be a 'sportsman' version of the latest AK-47 knock off, just in time for your local - deer - season.
A pseudo semi auto on first appearance, this 'transformer', only needs a few optional accessories to fulfill all your light infantry, wet, dreams...

There are already "sporting" versions of the Kalashnikov all over the place and they're not worth the money really. You can have a perfectly good AK-47 for hunting or whatever you want for much cheaper probably. The 7.62x39mm round is actually pretty good for deer and small game like that. Also, those "accessories" you're talking about are sears that have to be registered with the BATF to be legal. - Colt