Wednesday, July 29, 2015

China shows large amphibious hovercrafts and a new 50 ton seaplane will support South China Sea operations

http://nextbigfuture.com/

July 28, 2015

A new Chinese-built seaplane could help seal Beijing's control over its claims in the South China Sea (SCS), say military specialists on China.

The Jiaolong (Water Dragon) AG600, under construction by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA), will be China's largest operational seaplane.

The aircraft is powered by four turboprop WJ-6 engines and has a range of 5,500 kilometers, which would provide substantial movement within the SCS. In the Spratly Islands, China is currently constructing artificial islands on Hughes Reef, Johnson South Reef and Gaven Reef.

Despite the lack of direct mainland access to Beijing's strategic claims in the SCS, the aircraft are seen as a boon to solidifying control of the area by China's military and maritime enforcement agencies for island hopping within the crowded clusters of the 750 reefs, islets, atolls and islands in the Spratly Islands archipelago.

"Amphibious planes like the AG600 would be perfect for resupplying the new artificial islands that the Chinese are building in the SCS," said Richard Bitzinger, coordinator of the Military Transformations Program at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

The AG600's maiden flight should be in 2016.

The amphibious aircraft, developed for sea rescue and firefighting missions, can takeoff from land or water and has a maximum takeoff weight of over 50 tons. It is capable of rescuing 50 people at a time on sea rescue missions.

Russia and Japan are the only other countries in the world to have developed large-sized amphibious aircraft, though the AG600 is the largest of the three and has only taken six years to reach this stage since the project was initiated in 2009.

Other large-sized aircraft being developed by China include the C919 narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner and the Y-20 large military transport aircraft.

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) featured one of its Zubr-class landing craft air cushion (LCAC aka hovercraft) for the first time in an amphibious landing exercise.

According to IHS Jane's Fighting Ships , the Zubr-class (Project 1232.2 class, 'Pomornik') LCAC is capable of embarking three MBTs or 10 armoured personnel carriers with 230 troops. The vessel, referred to in Chinese media as the 'Bison hovercraft', has a top speed of 60 kt and a range of 300 n miles at 55 kt.

IHS Jane's reported in 2009 that the PLAN was procuring four Zubr-class LCACs from Ukraine - two of which are being built in China - in a deal estimated to be worth USD315 million.

China’s military has doubled the size of its Amphibious Mechanized Infantry Division (AMID) from about 30,000 to 60,000 men for a potential conflict in the East and South China seas as well as with Taiwan.

Not everyone is convinced that the doubling of AMIDs will necessarily pose a bigger concern to Taiwan. Former Republic of China Marine Corps colonel, Yi-Jia Shiah, said AMIDs are fundamentally different to marines and that the threat is not as serious as publicized, though increased cooperation between the two units will have to be closely monitored.

Author: brian wang on 7/28/2015

Zubr-class LCAC

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Class overview
Zubr class LCAC
Builders:	Feodosia Shipbuilding Company, Crimea
Operators:	Russian Navy Ukrainian Navy Hellenic Navy People's Liberation Army Navy
In commission:	1988-Present
Active:	9
General characteristics
Type:	Air-cushioned landing craft
Displacement:	340 tons (light) 415 tons (normal) 555 tons (full load)^[1]
Length:	57 m (187 ft)^[2]
Beam:	25.6 m (84 ft)^[3]
Draught:	1.6 m (5.2 ft)^[2]
Propulsion:	5 Kuznetsov NK-12MV gas turbines;^[2] 2 for lift, 3 for propulsion; 5 x 11,836 horsepower Propellers: 3 four-bladed variable-pitch propellers
Speed:	63 knots^[1] 55 knots if sustained ^[1]
Range:	300 mi (480 km) at 55 knots
Complement:	31 (4 officers, 27 enlisted)^[1]
Sensors and processing systems:	Ekran-1 navigational radar, Lazur radar (Pozitiv radar on MDK-51), R-782 Buran communications system
Electronic warfare and decoys:	Electronic Countermeasures System: Decoys, MS-227 chaff launcher, MP-411 ESM radar system; intercept
Armament:	4 x Strela-3 man-portable air defence missile system launchers, plus 32 anti-personnel missiles; or 2 x Strela 2 quad launchers, manual aiming, infrared homing to 6 km (3.7 mi) at Mach 1.5, maximum altitude of 2,500 m (8,200 ft) 2 x 30 mm AK-630 close in weapon systems with 6,000 rounds each, maximum range of 2 km (1.2 mi) 2 x 140 mm Ogon launchers, 22 rockets each with 132 rockets in total; or 2 x 122 mm retractable rocket launchers Mines (one set of removable equipment for laying from 20 to 80 mines, depending on their types)

The Zubr-class (Project 1232.2, NATO reporting name "Pomornik") is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC). This class of military hovercraft is, as of 2012, the world’s largest, with a standard full load displacement of 555 tons.^[1]^[4] The hovercraft is designed to sealift amphibious assault units (such as marines and tanks) from equipped/non-equipped vessels to non-equipped shores, as well as transport and plant naval mines.
There are currently seven Zubr-class hovercraft in active service worldwide with several pending delivery. There are two vessels in service with the Russian Navy, one in service with the Ukrainian Navy, and four with the Hellenic Navy.^[3] In 2009, China placed an order for four vessels from Ukraine as part of a deal worth 315 million USD.^[5] Two updated versions of the vessels will be built at Crimea's Feodosia Shipbuilding Company^[5] followed by two advanced models of the surface warship.^[6]
The purchase of Kefallinia (L-180) for the Hellenic Navy marked the first time a Soviet-designed naval craft had been built from new for a NATO member.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

Configuration

Mordovia, a Russian Navy Zubr-class, during Exercize Zapad-09

High strength and buoyancy is provided by a rectangular pontoon, the main load-carrying part of the ship's hull. The superstructure built on the pontoon is divided into three compartments with two longitudinal bulkheads: combat material compartment in the midsection fitted with tank ramps, and outboard sections housing main and auxiliary propulsion units, troop compartments, living quarters, and NBC protection systems. To improve working conditions in the battle stations, troop compartments and living quarters are fitted with air-conditioning and heating-systems, sound/heat-insulating coatings, and structures made of vibration damping materials. The ship provides normal conditions for the crew to make meals and rest.
Personnel are protected against the effects of weapons of mass destruction by airtight sealing of combat stations, crew and troop compartments, augmented with individual gas masks and protection suits. The ship is also protected from magnetic influence mines with an active system to compensate for the magnetic fields generated by the ship and transported materials. The central command post and MS-227 device compartments are strengthened with alloy armor.

Capacity

The Zubr-class landing craft has a cargo area of 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) and a fuel capacity of 56 tons.^[2] It can carry three main battle tanks (up to 150 tonnes), or ten armoured vehicles with 140 troops (up to 131 tonnes), or 8 armoured personnel carriers of total mass up to 115 tonnes, or 8 amphibious tanks or up to 500 troops (with 360 troops in the cargo compartment).
At full displacement the ship is capable of negotiating up to 5-degree gradients on non-equipped shores and 1.6m-high vertical walls. The Zubr remains seaworthy in conditions up to Sea State 4. The vessel has a cruising speed of 30-40 knots.