An undated photo of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning. PLAN Photo
China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning has left its homeport of Qingdao to conduct sea trials, according to a Tuesday report from the Xinhua news agency.
The underway will focus on “scientific experiments and sea training,” Xinhua cited People’s Liberation Army Navy officials. Read More
China has accepted an invitation from the U.S. to join the 2014 Rim of the Pacific naval exercises off of Hawaii.
However, members of Congress have raised questions if the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s inclusion as part of RIMPAC will violate provisions of a 2000 U.S. defense bill that restricts the level of military to military contact the Pentagon can have with its Chinese counterparts.
The following is an April Congressional Research Service report that broadly outlines the history of the defense law and the U.S. military relationship with China. Read More
Capt. James T. Jones, commanding officer of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67), right, describes his ship to Commander of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s South Sea Fleet (SSF), Vice Adm. Jiang Weilie in May. U.S. Navy Photo
Members of Congress are calling for increased scrutiny on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy as part of the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House Armed Services Committee early Thursday morning.
Two amendments added by House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection forces chairman Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) asked for a report from the Pentagon on China’s involvement in the Rim of the Pacific 2014 naval exercise as well as an amendment that urges Beijing to peacefully resolve conflicts in the South China Sea region. Read More
Lockheed Martin artist conception of the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). Lockheed Martin Photo
In light of emerging anti-ship threats the Pentagon is exploring the first new anti-ship missile system since the demise of the Soviet Union.
Under the auspices of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)—with funding assistance from the Office of Naval Research—DARPA’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) program hopes to field a new anti-ship cruise missile for the Navy, a capability long neglected in the years since the Soviet Union’s collapse. Read More
U.S. Air Force cyber airman from the @4th Ari Force in April 2013. US Air Force Photo
The head of China’s Internet security said it had extensive evidence pointing to U.S. hacking targeted toward China, according to a Wednesday report in the state controlled China Daily.
“We have mountains of data, if we wanted to accuse the U.S., but it’s not helpful in solving the problem,” said Huang Chengqing, director of the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China, known as CNCERT. Read More
Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of US Pacific Command in 2012. US Navy Photo
The head of U.S. Pacific Command said the U.S. would oppose the use of force in resolving disputes over territory in the South China Sea, according to a Wednesday report from the Associated Press. Read More
Then Lt. Cmdr. John Thach during World War II. US Navy Photo
The following is from the June, 2007 issue of Naval History Magazine:
Six Grumman F4FA Wildcat fighters of Fighting Squadron (VF)-3 were the sole protection for the USS Yorktown’ s 12 torpedo planes and 17 dive bombers that attacked the Japanese First Carrier Striking Force early on 4 June 1942. Launching nearly two hours after their compatriots on board the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet , the F4Fs were led by then-Lieutenant Commander Jimmie Thach and were the only fighters to engage the Japanese over their ships that morning. The following account is adapted from Thach’s U.S. Naval Institute oral history.
Before leaving Pearl Harbor, I was given very brief indications that we expected an attack, and there was obviously a big battle coming up in the middle of the Pacific. That’s about all I was told before I landed aboard the Yorktown (CV-5) on May 30. That night, the air group met in the wardroom where Commander Murr Arnold, the air officer, gave us a complete briefing on everything they knew about the opposing Japanese forces and their probable intentions. So we had a day or so to think before we arrived in position. After this briefing, it was obvious a very serious and crucial engagement was coming up. If we could win this one, we might be able to stop the Japanese advance.
USS Yorktown after a series of torpedo strikes in 1942. Naval Institute Archives
The following ran in Proceedings in May 1968:
The tension in I-168’s conning tower had been steadily building up for six and a half hours. In the cramped command post, I stood, palms out, waiting to grip the rising periscope’s handles. We were all perspiring heavily. My torpedo petty officer was scanning his switch panel, and a nervous helmsman wiped clammy hands frequently on his pants. Lieutenant (jg) Nakagawa, pencil in hand, mopped his damp brow between looks at the compass and speed indicator. But my gunnery officer, Ensign Watanabe, seemed almost unconcerned. Of the five, his job was by far the simplest. Our submarine was creeping straight toward the crippled American aircraft carrier Yorktown. There were no ballistics problems for Watanabe to work out-the range was point-blank, and target speed was nearly zero.
The whine of the periscope’s lift motor died away as I sighted through the eyepiece. I had been allowing myself a maximum of five seconds on each sight check and I didn’t intend to change the tactic. One quick glance would give me the range, and I could give the order to fire torpedoes.
Iranian missile launchers in a May, 26 2013 display. Iranian Ministry of Defense Photo
Iran could have enough launchers to send a salvo of medium range ballistic missiles that would overwhelm Israeli ballistic missile defense systems, according to a Wednesday report from IHS Jane’s.
A May, 26 broadcast on Iranian television showcased a collection of transporter erector launchers (TELs) capable of launching the Iranian Shahab-3 guided ballistic missiles. Read More
US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon with General Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission in Beijing, on May, 28 2013. Voice of America Photo
The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and a senior leader of China’s People’s Liberation Army vowed to increase naval cooperation, during a Tuesday meeting in Beijing.
Lt. Gen. Qi Jianguo, PLA’s deputy chief of the general staff, vowed to establish military ties based on “equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation,” with a meeting with Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, reported Xinhua news service. Read More
