China's navy. Chinese navy ships

The traditions of the fleet of the Celestial Empire are rooted in ancient times, they are already many centuries and even millennia. But in modern world past successes are of little interest to anyone, except perhaps historians. Today in the club of countries with the most powerful naval forces, includes China. The Navy of this country is, according to various estimates, in third (in some aspects - in second) place in the world. In terms of total tonnage, it is second only to the American fleet, but in terms of combat capabilities it lags behind the Russian one. He holds a confident superiority in terms of the number of personnel. This is typical of all called the People's Liberation Army of China.

Chinese Navy in the first half of the 20th century

Defeated by Japan in 1895, the country plunged into long internecine chaos. The country experienced a period of technical and social backwardness, it experienced unrest, uprisings, and therefore could not play the role of a leading maritime power in the region. The budget was meager, technically equipped poorly. In 1909, an attempt was made to modernize: instead of four fleets (Northern, Canton, Shanghai and Fuzhou), there were three of them - Northern, Central and Southern. Each of them included one battleship and several (up to seven) cruisers, which rather met the standards. The management system and infrastructure were reformed, albeit slowly. Then the government declared its intention to strengthen the Navy and launch dozens of modern ships, but the idea failed, again, for budgetary reasons. It was possible to build only three cruisers and a destroyer. After that, the fleet was replenished only once, when it included Austro-Hungarian and German ships requisitioned during the First World War, which accidentally visited China. The Navy of this country was practically not modernized from that time until the end of World War II.

The formation of the PRC fleet

Not a single country in the post-war world was interested in China having a powerful and modern fleet, except for the Soviet Union, which considered the newly formed PRC its regional ally in Asia. Its first units were obsolete ships inherited from the Navy of the Kuomintang Republic, including the He Wei gunboat sunk by the Japanese, raised and repaired. China was building the Navy anew, and it could not do without external assistance. And the Soviet comrades provided it. Thousands of military advisers, highly qualified and with combat experience, have done everything to grow competent personnel. Already in the autumn of 1949, the Dalian Naval Officers School was founded. In addition, a military shipbuilding program was launched, first on the basis of projects developed in the USSR. After the transfer of Port Arthur to the Chinese side, a huge amount of military equipment, including ships, was at the disposal of the PLA. By the end of the Korean War, the Americans were forced to admit that a new leader had appeared in the region - China. The navy of this communist country was still much inferior in combat power to the US fleet based in Hawaii, but in the coastal zone it posed a certain danger.

Organization Chart

The structure of the fleet, adopted back in 1909, was recognized by Soviet specialists as optimal. It was conditionally divided into three parts: Northern, Southern and Eastern with the main ports of base in Qingdao, Zhantian and Ningbo, respectively. In these cities, administrative structures and headquarters are located. In addition, the command of the fleet became separate (on the basis of the branches of service), although it was subordinate to the general leadership of the PLA. It was structured along surface, underwater, coastal and aviation areas. The ships of the Chinese Navy were mostly Soviet-built, so knowledge of the Russian language for a naval officer became mandatory. The imitation of Soviet military orders was also expressed in appearance.

Uniform and shoulder straps

Soviet military uniforms of the post-war period, especially naval uniforms, were distinguished by some panache, which can even be called old-fashioned. Golden shoulder straps, black tunic and shoulder straps with gaps evoked nostalgia for pre-revolutionary times and aroused pride in glorious ancestors. The officer insignia of the Chinese Navy inherited this late Stalinist chic. On shoulder straps, as well as on Soviet ones, there are gaps, senior officers have two of them, and junior officers have one. The location of the stars and their size correspond to the ranks adopted in the USSR Navy from junior lieutenant to admiral. Some national specifics are retained for junior ranks. Military ranks The Chinese Navy differs from the Soviet and Russian ones due to the peculiarities of transcription, but the general structure of subordination is preserved.

Sailors

The form of the naval enlisted personnel of the Chinese Navy almost completely repeats the Russian one. The same vest, only with a wider top stripe. Peakless caps are also very similar, despite the hieroglyphic inscriptions. It is not known how the trousers are fastened: since the time of Peter the Great, Russian sailors have traditionally had buttons sewn on the sides, where there are pockets on ordinary trousers. Most likely, such subtleties are unknown to Chinese sailors, as well as the meaning of the three stripes on the guis collar. And they are in honor of the three victories of the Russian Fleet (Gangut, Chesma, Sinop).

Chinese military sailors are very neat, their uniforms fit well, their shoes are polished, the copper of the buckles is polished. Everything is like ours. The insignia differ somewhat in the shape of the chevrons.

Activities of Comrade Lin Peng's Minister

Chinese navy sailors largely managed to avoid the destructive processes that swept all over China during the "Cultural Revolution". The Navy participated in the suppression of the Wuhan riot of 1967, but its role in the Maoist crimes was limited to this. The "Great Leap Forward" failed, and immediately after its unsuccessful finale, the efforts of Minister of Defense Lin Peng began the modernization of the technical base. Approximately one fifth of the entire military budget was spent on the fleet. During the seventh decade of the 20th century, the number of submarines grew to a hundred (in 1969 there were only 35), and the number of missile carriers increased tenfold (there were two hundred of them). The development of strategic nuclear submarines began.

This was an important step in the development of Chinese naval power, but so far it has followed an extensive path.

Eighties

The commander of the Chinese Navy, Liu Huaqing, who had been in office since 1980, was a close friend of a comrade. He managed to convince the de facto head of state that general direction The naval strategy should be slightly changed in favor of the quality of the modernization of the Chinese Navy. The composition of numerous warships outwardly looked very impressive, but technically they could hardly compete with modern American or Soviet destroyers and missile cruisers. Educational level naval commanders should have been promoted. The focus of the doctrine had to be timely turned away from passive coastal activities in favor of operations in the open ocean. This requires missiles launched from ships, such as the fleets of the USSR and the USA have. In 1982, the first ICBM was launched from a Chinese missile carrier. In 1984-1985, ships of the PRC fleet made friendly visits to three neighboring countries. The progress has been modest, but progress has been made.

In the last decade of the third millennium, processes have taken place in the world that have changed the overall alignment of forces. If during the time of Mao China showed expansive aspirations towards the USSR, then after its collapse, the intensity of claims practically disappeared. Among the many reasons for the reduction of tension on the eastern borders of Russia, the main one is the unprecedented economic growth in the PRC, which has become a "world workshop". A glut of chemical plants threatening to become man-made bombs for densely populated cities, an ever-growing production volume and other factors have led to a change in the country.

The Chinese leadership continued to care about defense, but the emphasis was already on high-tech means capable of protecting the country, its economy and population from external threats. In addition, the problem of Taiwan and other disputed territories remained urgent.

The unfinished "Varyag" - unclaimed by anyone else, was inexpensively purchased for the needs of the Chinese fleet. Today it has become the first and so far the only aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy.

Modern composition of the fleet

At the moment, the Chinese Navy is represented by the following units:

Aircraft carriers - 1 ("Liaoning", the former "Varyag", the largest Chinese ship - its displacement is approximately 60 thousand tons).

Submarine missile carriers - 1 ("Xia", project 092), in completion or completed several more (at least four) projects "Jin" (094) and "Teng" (096).

Multipurpose nuclear boats- 6 pcs. (projects "Kin", "Han" and "Shan").

Diesel submarines - 68 pcs.

Anti-submarine ships - 116 pcs.

Missile destroyers -26 pcs.

Missile frigates - 49 pcs.

Missile boats - 85 pcs.

Torpedo boats - 9 pcs.

Artillery boats - 117 pcs.

Tank landing ships - 68 pcs.

Boats on air cushion- 10 pieces.

Radio-controlled raid minesweepers - 4 pcs.

Large landing hovercraft "Bizon" - 2 pcs. (presumably there may be 4).

plus more than a thousand aircraft different types that make up naval aviation.

The total displacement of Chinese ships exceeds 896,000 tons. For comparison:

927 thousand tons.

US Navy - 3, 378 million tons.

Personnel

The US and Japanese governments are mainly concerned about the growing power of China's navy. Photos of ships lined up in a wake column, with frightening comments, are published from time to time in magazines and published by news sites. But it is not these samples, for the most part outdated and inferior to the American ones, that serve as the main bugbear. A big impression is made by the figure indicating the number of Chinese sailors and military personnel located at coastal bases. According to various sources, it is approximately equal to 350 thousand people.

Among them:

Marines - 56.5 thousand.

As part of the Coastal Forces - 38 thousand people.

There are 34,000 more servicemen in Naval Aviation.

This, of course, is a lot. There are far fewer American sailors - there are only 332,000 of them.

Russian and Chinese - brothers forever?

The modern world is arranged in such a way that states, defending their interests, are forced to unite and “be friends against” someone who, as a rule, is also not alone. The commonality of positions on many world problems contributes to the military-political cooperation between the Russian Federation and the PRC. Joint exercises of the Russian and Chinese navies last year were held in two seas distant from each other - in the Mediterranean and Japan. This demonstration of readiness for mutual assistance and concerted action does not at all mean that in the event of a military conflict, one country will certainly support the other through direct intervention. If China wants to regain the island of Taiwan or seize part of the territory of Vietnam (and this is also a strategic ally of Russia in the Southeast Asian region), then it is unlikely that it will receive not only help, but also sympathy from the “Northern Neighbor”. Another thing is joint operations at sea against pirates and terrorists. However, China is a peaceful country, like Russia.

Visiting? Welcome!

After the Mediterranean naval maneuvers, the sailors of the People's Republic of China paid a friendly visit to Russian soil. The ships of the Chinese Navy in Novorossiysk saluted twenty-one gun salvos, the coastal batteries of the Tsemess Bay responded in kind.

The sailors of both fleets took part in festive events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the victory over German fascism.

The meeting place for the deputy commanders of the Russian Navy (A. Fedotenkov) and China (Du Jingchen) was the 34th berth of the city embankment. The ceremony, despite being official, was cordial. Apparently, the maneuvers "Marine Interaction - 2015" were successful. This is probably not the last joint exercise of the Russian and Chinese navies.

From September 12 to 19, joint exercises of detachments of ships of the Russian Navy (Navy) and the naval forces (Navy) of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA, the armed forces of the PRC) are being held in the South China Sea.

TASS has prepared information about the PLA Navy, organizational structure and armament of this type of armed forces.

How was the formation of the fleet

Until the end period civil war in China (1927-1950, with a formal break in 1936-1945) the PLA did not have a fleet: the war between the Communist Party of China (CCP) and the Kuomintang party was for control of the mainland.

The founding date of the PLA Navy is April 23, 1949, on this day several ships of the Navy of the Republic of China (the government of the Kuomintang party) crossed over to the side of the CCP.

How separate view The armed forces of the Navy were established in September 1950, when a separate command was created under the General Staff of the PLA.
The absence of a powerful fleet in 1950 did not allow the PLA to take control of about. Taiwan, where the Kuomintang government was evacuated. The PRC limited itself to taking Fr. Hainan, where army units landed on junks.

In November 1949, the Naval Academy was established in Dalian (with instructors from the USSR).

According to historians, in 1954 there were about 2,500 Soviet military specialists in China who assisted the PRC in building a modern fleet.

The first combat use of the PRC Navy was the participation of several ships in the suppression of unrest in Wuhan during the "cultural revolution" in 1967. Subsequently, the Chinese fleet won victories in clashes with Vietnamese ships in the region of the disputed islands in the South China Sea (in 1974, near the Paracelsky and in 1988 near the Spratly Islands).

By the 1970s China already had modern fleet. In 1974, China commissioned its first nuclear submarine (NPS, project 091 "Han"), in 1982, for the first time, it successfully launched a ballistic missile from a submarine.

In 2002, a squadron of the Chinese Navy completed the first circumnavigation of the world in the history of the Chinese Navy.

Currently, China's military strategy highlights the sea as one of the four key areas in which China needs to increase the potential of its military forces (along with space, cyberspace and the nuclear sphere).

In 2012, a course was proclaimed for China to become a strong maritime power. The 2015 White Paper of the PRC government emphasizes the rejection of traditional ideas about the priority importance of land spaces, indicating the transition from the protection of exclusively coastal territories to the integrated security of both coastal areas and the high seas.

What is the fleet

The commander of the PLA Navy is Admiral Wu Shengli, a member of the Central Military Council (the highest state body in charge of the armed forces of China).

Organizationally, the PLA Navy is divided into three fleets:

Northern (SF, coverage area - Yellow Sea and Bohai Bay),

Vostochny (VF, East China Sea, including the Taiwan Strait),

Southern (SF, South China Sea).

The headquarters of the fleets are located, respectively, in the cities of Qingdao, Ningbo and Zhanjiang. At the beginning of 2016, three fleets were included in the commands of the same name, which were created in the course of the military reform in place of the former districts.

The PLA Navy includes:

underwater force,

surface forces,

naval Aviation,

coastal defense force,

Marines.

The number of personnel is about 235 thousand people.
In general, the PLA Navy ranks first in the world in terms of the number of diesel submarines, frigates, missile and patrol boats, landing ships(but inferior to the US Navy in terms of total tonnage and landing craft capacity).

In terms of the number of nuclear submarines and destroyers, the Chinese fleet is the third in the world (in terms of SSBNs and nuclear submarines - after the US Navy and the Russian Navy, in terms of destroyers - after the US Navy and Japan).

submarine fleet

The PRC is actively building up its submarine fleet, which is approaching the American one in terms of numbers (75 submarines; in the Russian Navy - 70).

The Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), estimates that only 61 submarines are in service with the PLA Navy, but the US Department of Defense estimates that China currently has at least 70 submarines. including 16 nuclear ones.

The maritime component of the PRC nuclear deterrence forces are four Project 094 Jin nuclear submarine missile carriers (commissioned in 2006-2015), each with 12 ballistic missiles JL-2 and with anti-ship missiles.

Two Project 094B nuclear submarines are being completed, each of which will carry 16 JL-2 missiles.

To replace the outdated nuclear submarines of project 091 "Han" (3 units in the Northern Fleet), new ones were built - project 093 "Shang" (presumably 6 units). The construction of new nuclear submarines of project 095 is underway.

The most modern of the Chinese diesel submarines are 15 submarines of project 041A "Yuan".

The construction of even more modern submarines of project 043 has begun.

Also in service are 12 diesel-electric submarines of Russian construction - projects 877, 636 and 636EM ("Varshavyanka"). In addition, 13 Chinese-made Project 039 Sung submarines are in service.

Older, but still combat-ready, are Project 035 "Min" submarines, their number is estimated at 15 units.

Aircraft carriers

The only one on this moment the Chinese aircraft carrier "Liaoning" (in the fleet since 2012) is a former Soviet aircraft carrier cruiser"Varyag" project 11436, acquired in 1998 in Ukraine in an unfinished state.

The ship can accommodate up to 24 Shenyang J-15 fighters (copied from the Su-27K bought in Ukraine) and up to 17 helicopters (Russian Ka-31 radar patrol, anti-submarine Ka-28 and Chinese transport Z-8).

China is currently building a new aircraft carrier. It is stated that according to their performance characteristics it will outperform Liaoning.

destroyers

The PLA Navy operates 21 destroyers:

four ships of Russian projects 956E (2 units) and 956EM (2 units), delivered to China in the late 1990s - early 2000s;

three ships of projects 051C and 051B built in the same period;

ten ships of projects 052, 052B, 052C;

in 2014, the first destroyer of project 052D "Kunming" was accepted into the Chinese fleet (4 units were put into service, 8 more units are under construction).

Frigates

The most numerous class of surface ships of the PLA Navy (56 units) are frigates.

The oldest are 6 ships of project 051 of the "Luyda" type (modifications of Soviet projects of the 1950s, built from the early 1970s to the early 1990s).
26 Project 053N ships of various modifications (created on the basis of the Soviet patrol ship project 50 "Ermine"). These frigates (except for the most modern modification 053H3) are gradually withdrawn from the Navy, some of them are sold to other countries or transferred to the Coast Guard.

Since the mid 2000s. Two Project 054 frigates and 22 Project 054A frigates were built to replace the Project 053H frigates, and three more frigates of the latter type are planned to be commissioned. The installations for the vertical launch of anti-aircraft guided missiles on Project 054A frigates were created on the basis of the Russian Shtil air defense system.

Corvettes, boats and minesweepers

In 2012, the construction of project 056 corvettes began in China. At present, 23 ships of this type have already been commissioned, of which four are anti-submarine 056A. It is planned that the total number of such ships will be at least 50 units.

The PLA Navy ranks first in the world in terms of the number of combat boats (more than 200). There are about 100 missile boats (projects 022, 037-II, 037-IG) and about the same number of patrol boats (projects 037-I, 037, 062-I).

Mine-sweeping forces are represented by a single project 918 "Volei" mine layer and 48 minesweepers of projects 081, 082 and 082A.

Landing ships

The amphibious forces of the PLA Navy include:

four project 071 Qinchenshan-type universal assault helicopter carriers;

30 large landing ships of project 072 of four modifications;

13 medium landing ships of project 073;

about 60 small landing ships (projects 074A, 074, 079-II);

four Project 12322 Zubr landing hovercraft built in Ukraine.

Naval aviation

Organizationally, it consists of six air divisions, two in each of the fleets.

According to The Military Balance, the Navy has 346 aircraft in service (the second largest in the world in terms of this indicator after the American one). Among them are 30 Xi'an H-6G bombers (own modification of the Soviet Tu-16) and 120 Xi'an JH-7 and JH-7A fighters.

The fighters are represented by 24 Russian-made Su-30MK2 aircraft and copies of the Su-27SK - 72 Shenyang J-11B and J-11BS aircraft.

At least 20 Shenyang J-15 carrier-based fighters are also in service. In addition, the naval aviation has 22 Chengdu J-10 multipurpose fighters and 24 Shenyang J-8 units. The production of J-11 and J-10 continues, their number will increase.

Anti-submarine aviation is represented by three amphibious aircraft own production SH-5 and 44 helicopters (19 Russian Ka-28s, 25 Chinese Harbin Z-9Cs based on the French AS365).

There are three tanker aircraft H-6DU (a project based on the H-6 bomber).

The PLA Navy is armed with 32 Y-8 multipurpose aircraft. Of these, 8 boards are used in the variant of electronic reconnaissance aircraft, 4 boards - as early warning radar aircraft (AWACS) Y-8J, the rest - as transport aircraft.
There are also 10 Y-7 transport aircraft and over 100 training aircraft.

The PLA Naval Aviation also includes:

44 multipurpose helicopters (19 Russian Ka-28s and 25 Chinese Harbin Z-9Cs);
9 Ka-31 AWACS helicopters;

43 transport helicopters (8 Russian Mi-8s, 20 Chinese Z-8s based on the French SA-321; 15 SA-321s themselves).

Marines

Includes two brigades as part of the Law Firm. In addition to preparing for amphibious assault operations, Chinese marines are garrisoning the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, disputed with Vietnam.

Armed with brigades marines consists of 73 ZTD-05 light tanks and 152 ZBD-05 infantry fighting vehicles.

Self-propelled artillery has more than 20 Type-07 self-propelled guns of 120 mm caliber and more than 20 outdated Type-89 self-propelled guns. Also in service with the Marine Corps
The PLA consists of Type-63 multiple launch rocket systems, HJ-73 and HJ-8 anti-tank missile systems, portable anti-aircraft missile systems
HN-5 and 82mm mortars.

In recent years, against the backdrop of shocking economic growth in China, the modernization of the armed forces has been taking place. Over the past ten years, China's military budget in dollar terms has doubled and amounted to $216 billion in 2014, according to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute. For comparison, US defense spending was $610 billion, and Russia's was $84.5 billion.

Along with the strategic nuclear forces, ground forces and aviation, the navy is also actively developing. Since the 90s, the navy of the People's Liberation Army of China has been actively replenished through the purchase of warships in Russia. But in the past few years, this practice has become a thing of the past. The Chinese Navy annually receives several large warships of its own construction, including diesel and nuclear submarines, frigates and destroyers with guided missile weapons.

Taking into account foreign experience, developed and mass-produced at Chinese enterprises: missile boats, frigates, destroyers and large landing ships. At the same time, China believes that "all means are good" in strengthening the country's defense capability. When designing warships, the Chinese do not disdain ideas and technical solutions obtained with the help of "technical espionage". Modern destroyers, corvettes and large landing ships built recently in the PRC are a bizarre mixture of Soviet and Western technologies with a national Chinese flavor.

Currently, China is moving away from the past practice of purchasing warships from abroad, preferring to spend financial resources and create jobs at home, providing orders for its own shipyards. In recent years, in Russia, the Chinese have not been buying entire warships, but only some components, equipment and weapons. Basically, these are modern anti-ship and anti-aircraft systems. At the same time, China is actively developing its own analogues. Unlike past years, now these are not "Chinese" copies, but often original developments created by numerous Chinese research institutes.

In the Pacific direction, only warships can compete with the PLA Navy from the fleets of regional powers Naval Forces self-defense of Japan. But it is hard to imagine that the leadership of Japan would decide to aggravate relations with China without the support and approval of the United States. In this way, the main potential adversary is still the 7th operational fleet of the US Navy. The headquarters of the commander of the US 7th Fleet is located in the Yokosuka naval base (Japan).

The 7th Fleet has at least one Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier and ten cruisers and destroyers of the Ticonderoga and URO-class on a permanent basis. An aircraft carrier strike group also usually includes several multi-purpose nuclear submarines. American missile cruisers, destroyers and nuclear submarines, in addition to other weapons, also carry BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles with a launch range of up to 1600 km in the Tomahawk Block IV modification. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier carries 48 F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet fighter-bombers.

Over the past 20 years, the Chinese Navy has evolved from a coastal fleet whose main task was to defend the coast, into a full-fledged ocean-going fleet. The current goal of the PLA Navy is to build a close defensive perimeter that China is building along its sea coast. In China, it is called "the first island chain". It includes the South China, East China and Yellow Seas.

The far defense perimeter extends into the open ocean, up to 1,500 nautical miles from the coast. The main purpose of the presence of the Chinese navy in this zone is to counter foreign warships carrying cruise missiles, as well as aircraft carriers, on which carrier-based strike aircraft are based.

Mainly, the Chinese fleet is faced with the task of protecting the coast of the PRC, along which, in favorable climatic conditions the majority of the population lives and about 70% of industrial enterprises are located. This is clearly seen from the way in which administrative, industrial and defense facilities are covered by air defense systems on the territory of the PRC.

Scheme of the location of the radar and air defense systems in the territory of the PRC (blue diamonds - radar, colored figures - air defense systems)

In addition, recently, the naval component of the Chinese strategic nuclear forces - Type 094 SSBNs, which carry 12 JL-2 ballistic missiles with a range of 8,000 km, began to conduct combat patrols in areas controlled by Chinese surface forces and aviation.

The Chinese navy consists of 3 operational fleets: Northern, Eastern and Southern. As of the beginning of 2015, the PLA Navy had 972 ships, including: one aircraft carrier, 25 destroyers, 48 frigates and 9 nuclear and 59 diesel submarines, 228 landing craft, 322 Coast Guard patrol ships, 52 minesweepers and 219 support vessels.

As already mentioned, in the 21st century, the Chinese navy from the coastal to the ocean. In 2002, the PLA Navy squadron completed the first circumnavigation of the world in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans in the history of the Chinese navy. In 2012, the PLA Navy received its first aircraft carrier, which marked a new stage of development. All this demonstrates the growing role of the fleet in ensuring the country's security. In addition, the Chinese fleet is increasingly becoming an instrument of political influence and a weighty argument in numerous territorial disputes with its neighbors.

Surface fleet. Destroyers, frigates and corvettes

In the 70-90s, the PRC was building destroyers pr. 051 of the Luida type, which were a Soviet pr. 41 reworked in the PRC. Unlike the USSR, where only one ship was built according to this not very successful project PRC shipyards handed over 17 destroyers to the Chinese fleet. The last of the ships, completed according to the 051G project, entered the Southern Fleet in 1993. If you believe the reference books, then most of the Chinese destroyers of this project are still formally part of the fleet.

EM project 051

The main strike weapon of the EM pr. 051 was the HY-2 (C-201) anti-ship complex with a launch range in an upgraded version of up to 100 km. The HY-2 missile was created on the basis of the Soviet P-15 anti-ship missiles and is currently considered obsolete due to the need to refuel with liquid fuel and an aggressive oxidizer, subsonic flight speed and low noise immunity.

Launch anti-ship missiles HY-2

Apparently, anti-ship missiles of this type will be retired along with carriers that have not been modernized by EM pr. 051 over the next few years.

Start RCC YJ-83

By the beginning of the 2000s, some of the ships of this project were modernized according to the 051G project. The previously installed 2x3 anti-ship missiles HY-2 were replaced by more modern ones - 4x4 anti-ship missiles YJ-83 (C-803) with a launch range of 160 km. This is a fairly modern missile with an active radar seeker and turbojet engine accelerates at the final stage of the flight to supersonic speed.

In 1994 and 1996, two destroyers of Project 052 (Luhu type) entered the Chinese fleet. Compared to EM pr. 051, they were larger, better armed and had greater cruising range and seaworthiness. The ships were intended for strikes with anti-ship missiles against enemy surface ships, anti-submarine defense, as well as for fire support of landing forces and shelling of coastal targets. For self-defense, they have the HQ-7 near-field air defense system, created on the basis of the French Crotale anti-aircraft system. The main means of combating surface targets is the YJ-83 anti-ship system with sixteen anti-ship missiles.

EM project 052

The design of these destroyers was carried out in the early to mid-80s, at a time of improving relations between China and Western countries. When creating destroyers, the Chinese counted on American, British and French technical assistance. However, after the events in Tiananmen Square and the ensuing Western embargo on the supply of weapons and dual-use technologies, they had to rely on their own strength. This significantly increased the construction time of the ships and limited the series.

The first surface warships in the Chinese fleet, capable of delivering truly effective strikes against the AUG at a considerable distance from its coast, were the destroyers of project 956E delivered from Russia, armed with the P-270 Moskit supersonic anti-ship missiles. The first ship "Hanzhou" was handed over to China at the end of 1999, and the second "Fuzhou" at the end of 2000. In 2005-2006, two more destroyers Taizhou and Ningbo, built according to an improved project of pr. 956EM, replenished the combat strength of the PLA Navy. In total, these four destroyers, capable of operating in the ocean zone, carry 32 anti-ship missiles with a launch range of up to 120 km and a maximum speed of about Mach 2.8.

Chinese destroyers pr. 956E and 956EM

The incident that occurred on April 1, 2001, 100 km from the Chinese island of Hainan, is connected with the destroyers delivered from Russia, Project 956E. The American electronic reconnaissance aircraft EP-3E Aires II, which was monitoring these ships, collided in the air with a Chinese J-8II fighter-interceptor while trying to oust it from the exercise area. As a result of the collision, the Chinese plane crashed into the sea, and its pilot was killed. An American "electronic spy" was planted at the Lingshui airfield on the Chinese island of Hainan under threat of use of weapons.

Subsequently, the American side apologized for the incident and paid monetary compensation to the widow of the deceased Chinese pilot. The Chinese were able to get acquainted in detail with the American intelligence and encryption equipment installed on the EP-3E Airyz II. Only in July 2001, the EP-3E was actually returned to the United States in the form of scrap metal on board the Russian An-124-100 Ruslan transport aircraft of the Polet airline.

In the Soviet and Russian navies, the destroyers of Project 956 had the dubious fame of ships with a very capricious main power plant that made high demands on the literacy of operation and maintenance. However, the experience of using these destroyers in the PLA Navy demonstrates that with proper performance discipline, regular maintenance and repair, these are quite reliable and capable warships.

The further development of the Chinese fleet destroyers project 051B (of the Liuhai type). Chinese shipbuilders, while maintaining the functional purpose of the ship, by increasing the geometric dimensions of the hull, tried to significantly increase the cruising range and autonomy.

Project 051B destroyer Shenzhen

The experience was not very successful, only one ship was built - the Shenzhen, transferred to the PLA Navy in 1999. Nevertheless, this destroyer actively participated in a number of long campaigns. In 2000 he visited a number of ports in Africa, and in 2001 visited ports in the UK, Germany, Italy and France. Its main strike weapon, as well as on the EM project 051G, are 16 YJ-83 anti-ship missiles in 4x4 launchers.

In 2007, two destroyers of project 051C entered the Chinese Navy: Shenyang and Shijiazhuang. While maintaining the architectural and design features of the 051B project, the main emphasis in the creation of these ships was placed on strengthening them air defense systems. The main purpose of the destroyers pr. 051C is to provide air defense for the operational formations of surface ships.

Destroyer pr. 051C

A feature of the destroyers pr. 051C is the presence of Russian-made S-300F (“Rif-M”) air defense launchers. In total, there are six launchers on board with 48 missiles ready for launch with a range of up to 90 km and an altitude of up to 30 km.

Project 052 served as the basis for a number of more advanced ships in terms of equipment, armament and seaworthiness. Project 052B and 052C destroyers have become much larger than their "ancestor". The main difference between pr. 052V and pr. 052C was the functional purpose of the ships, which have much in common in terms of hull and power base.

Project 052V destroyers (of the Guangzhou type) carry 16 YJ-83 anti-ship missiles, the ship's air defense is provided by two Shtil air defense systems with a range of up to 50 km. The lead ship, Guangzhou, followed by the Wuhan, entered service in 2004.

EM pr. 052S

Project 052C destroyers are ships designed to provide group air defense for a squadron of surface ships. According to this project, two destroyers were built, which entered service in 2004-2005. They are armed with the Chinese-made HQ-9 air defense system, which was created on the basis of the Russian C-300F. The number of anti-ship missiles YJ-62 (C-602) on board was reduced to eight. However, the YJ-62, compared with the YJ-83 anti-ship missiles, has significantly large area damage (400 versus 160), but the YJ-62 has a subsonic flight speed, which significantly increases its vulnerability to air defense systems.

Start RCC YJ-62

The missile entered service with the PLA Navy in 2004. When it was created, the technical solutions of the Soviet KR X-55, rocket samples and technical documentation were received from Ukraine.

The pinnacle of the evolution of Chinese destroyers today is the "Aegis-like" pr. 052D, it has a new multifunctional radar with an active phased antenna array, as well as a modern integrated weapons control system.

EM project 052D

Due to the increase in length and width, 64 vertical-launch launcher modules (two UVPs of 32 cells each) with HQ-9A missiles, anti-ship missiles with an increased firing range and missile launchers for hitting targets on land are placed on board. Thus, in the near future, the Chinese fleet will have universal ships capable of performing a wide range of tasks, including delivering cruise missile strikes against coastal targets.

Frigates are the most numerous class of large warships in the PLA Navy. Along with destroyers, they are capable of solving the tasks of anti-submarine defense, combating surface ships, destroying air targets in the near air defense zone of ship groups and protecting the economic zone of the PRC. The frigates of the Chinese fleet account for about 18% of total Anti-ship missiles deployed on warships of the Chinese Navy.

In the period from 1986 to 1993, on the basis of the Soviet TFR pr. 50, frigates pr. 053 (Jianghu type) were built. Their main purpose was to fight surface ships in the coastal zone of the PRC. To do this, the frigates had two twin HY-2 anti-ship missile launchers.

Among themselves, frigates of various series of pr. 053 differed in the composition of on-board equipment, means of communication and navigation, as well as various options artillery weapons. Part of the frigates in the first half of the 2000s was re-equipped with anti-ship missiles YJ-83 4x2 launchers.

Frigate project 053

The frigates of the first modifications of Project 53 are currently considered obsolete, they are rightly criticized for ineffective anti-ship missiles, the lack of air defense systems and a helicopter pad. Partially, these shortcomings are eliminated in the modernized frigate URO pr. 053N2 ("Jianghu-3"). The structural and architectural appearance of the ship was modified and outwardly it began to resemble the next generation frigates. Seven frigates were built under this project.

Frigate project 053H2G

In 1990-1994, a series of four frigates, project 053H2G, was built. The armament of ships of this type includes 3x2 launchers for anti-ship missiles YJ-82 (C-802) and air defense systems for the near zone HQ-61, a platform for an anti-submarine helicopter is provided in the stern.

Frigate project 053H3

From 1995 to 2005, 10 frigates of Project 053H3 (of the Jiangwei-2 type) were built. These ships are armed with the HQ-7 short-range air defense system with 8 missiles and 2 launchers for 4 YJ-83 anti-ship missiles.

Since 2002, the shipyards of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation have been building frigates URO pr. 054. This project was developed to replace obsolete frigates pr. 053H. A number of technical solutions were introduced in the ships of Project 054, which are typical for modern ships of this class, technologies for reducing radar and thermal visibility were used on them, and vertical missile launchers were installed.

Launch of the HQ-16 SAM from the Chinese frigate 054A

As of mid-2013, shipbuilding enterprises located in the cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou transferred 2 frigates of project 054 and 15 frigates of project 054A to the Chinese fleet. On frigates built according to the improved project 054A, the obsolete HQ-7 air defense systems were replaced by the HQ-16 air defense system (32 missiles, 2x16 VPU), which is an analogue of the Russian Shtil-1 complex. The frigate has a helipad and a hangar. chief anti-ship weapons are 8 anti-ship missiles YJ-83 in two four charging launchers.

In February 2013, the first corvette pr. 056 was put into operation. The project of this ship was developed on the basis of the Pattani-type export corvette for the Thai Navy. The need for a coastal patrol ship with powerful strike weapons and good living conditions for the crew, with a displacement of 1300-1500 tons, was ripe back in the 80s.

Corvette pr. 056

The body of the corvette is made using elements that reduce radar visibility. Project 056 ships are the first modular warships developed in China. This allows, if necessary, to easily change the composition of equipment and weapons, without making changes to the main design of the corvette. The selection of modules allows you to create different options based on one case. The following versions of the corvette have been developed and are offered to potential buyers: patrol, anti-submarine, strike, with enhanced air defense systems, headquarters and multi-purpose.

In addition to torpedo and artillery weapons, the typical armament of the multi-purpose version includes the new Chinese HHQ-10 short-range air defense system with a launch range of 9000 m and 2x2 anti-ship missile launchers YJ-83. For the next decade in China, to protect the coast and protect the economic zone, it is planned to build more than 50 "stealth corvettes" pr. 056 in various configurations.

submarine fleet

The submarine force of the PLA Navy is one of the largest in the world (the first in terms of the number of diesel-electric submarines) and ranks third after the United States and Russia. At present, the Chinese Navy has about 70 submarines in service.. Chinese submarines carry about 15% of the anti-ship missiles available in the PLA Navy, approximately 80% of torpedoes and 31% of mine weapons.

At the beginning of the 60s, despite the deterioration of relations in the PRC, the documentation of diesel-electric submarines, pr. 633, was transferred. The construction of these submarines on pr. 033 was carried out in the PRC until 1983. A total of 84 boats of this type were built, some of them were exported. At present, the boats of Project 633 are obsolete. During the construction and operation of diesel-electric submarines pr. 033 were repeatedly upgraded. They were equipped with high-capacity batteries, French sonar systems and modern radio-electronic equipment. But the composition of the main equipment and weapons has not changed much. Almost all submarines of this type have been retired from the PLA Navy, some of them can be used for training purposes.

DEPL pr. 035

On the basis of diesel-electric submarines pr. 033 in the PRC, boats pr. 035 (of the Ming type) were built. It differs from the previous project "Min" in a different design of the hull and power plant. In total, from 1975 to 2000, 25 diesel-electric submarines of project 035 were built. Currently, the number of boats of this project in the Chinese fleet is estimated at 20 units. The upgraded boats were designated as Project 035G and 035B. They are equipped with French passive sonar and an advanced fire control system. Against modern warships, Project 035 boats are limitedly capable in coastal areas, they can also be involved in covert minelaying. Some of the boats are used as training and experimental boats for testing new types of weapons.

The latest achievement of Chinese engineers in the field of creating diesel-electric submarines was diesel-electric submarines pr. 039 (Sun type). This boat was created taking into account its own and partly Soviet experience, elements of the architecture of the French Agosta-class submarine were also used.

Diesel-electric submarine pr. 039

Particular attention in the creation of this Chinese project was paid to reduce the level of acoustic signature and increase impact characteristics. The hull of the Chinese diesel-electric submarine is covered with a special anti-acoustic tile coating, as on Russian boats, project 877.

The creation and refinement of the boat was hard. Due to serious errors in the calculations and the novelty of many technical solutions, the noise and some other characteristics of the first boat did not correspond to the planned ones. Great criticism was caused by the work of the BIUS and GAS equipment.

The first boat, pr. 039, launched in May 1994, was tested, refined and corrected for 5 years. The leadership of the PRC decided not to build boats of this type until the lead submarine reaches a satisfactory level of combat and operational performance. Only after the finalization of the project, which received the designation pr. 039G, a series of 15 boats was laid down, the last of which entered service in 2007.

In general, diesel-electric submarines pr. 039G correspond to the level of French and German boats mid 80s. In addition to various types of torpedoes from standard 533 mm torpedo tubes, an underwater launch of the YJ-82 anti-ship missiles with a range of 120 km is possible. This Chinese anti-ship missile is close in its characteristics to the American UGM-84 Harpoon of early modifications.

The start of serial construction and the adoption of Sun-type boats in the PRC forced American admirals to reconsider their views on the capabilities of the PRC shipbuilding industry to create modern submarines and on the degree of the “Chinese submarine threat”.

The incident, which happened on October 26, 2006, confirmed that the Americans' fears about strengthening the capabilities of the PRC submarine fleet are quite justified. Then the Chinese submarine pr. 039G, having gone unnoticed, managed to approach the distance of a torpedo salvo to American aircraft carrier"Kitty Hawk", which was at that moment in the international waters of the South China Sea. After that, the boat defiantly surfaced not far from the American squadron. The Chinese submarine was not detected by the AUG anti-submarine forces until the moment it surfaced.

The moral and physical obsolescence of boats pr. 033 and 035, as well as the uncertainty with a new boat of their own design, forced the Chinese leadership to start purchasing diesel-electric submarines in Russia. The first two boats, project 877 EKM, arrived in 1995. They were followed in 1996 and 1999 by two more boats of project 636. The difference between diesel-electric submarines of project 636 and project 877 EKM is the use of new noise reduction technologies and modern on-board equipment.

Loading 53-65KE torpedoes on diesel-electric submarines pr.877EKM of the PLA Navy

In the early 2000s, an order was announced in Russia for eight more boats, pr. km are the export version of the Russian missile system"Caliber-PL". The missile is equipped with an active anti-jamming radar seeker, which captures a target at a distance of about 60 km.

Most of its path to the target, it passes at an altitude of 15-20 m at cruising subsonic speed. At a distance of about 20 km from the target, the missile begins to accelerate to a speed of about 3M, while it performs a zigzag anti-aircraft maneuver. In the event of an attack on large surface targets, a salvo launch of several anti-ship missiles is possible, which will attack the target from different directions.

In 2004, the PRC began testing a submarine pr. 041 (type "Yuan"). "Chinese comrades" tried to embody in this project best qualities Russian project 636M, taking into account its own capabilities. Initially, the boat was planned to be equipped with an auxiliary air-independent power plant. The Yuan ammunition includes YJ-82 or CX-1 anti-ship missiles launched through torpedo tubes.

diesel-electric submarine pr. 041

Apparently, the Chinese submarine pr. 041 failed to surpass the Russian boats of project 636M. In any case, so far nothing has been heard about the mass construction of these boats for the PLA Navy. At the same time, project 041 is actively offered for export.

In 1967, the first Chinese torpedo nuclear submarine Project 091 (of the Han type) was laid down in the PRC; it formally entered service in 1974. But the elimination of numerous defects, including in the nuclear power plant, took another 6 years, and the boat began to carry out combat service only in 1980.

Nuclear submarine pr. 091

In total, until 1991, the Chinese fleet received five nuclear submarines of this type. Despite the modernization of a number of units, on-board equipment and weapons, boats of this type were hopelessly outdated by the beginning of the 21st century. The introduction of the most recent YJ-8Q nuclear-powered anti-ship missiles into the armament did not greatly enhance their capabilities in combating enemy surface ships. Since the launch of missiles is possible only on the surface, and in terms of noise level, the nuclear submarines of Project 091 are 2.5-2.8 times inferior to foreign boats of a similar class. Several Han-class submarines are still in the Navy, but their time has passed and these first boats with nuclear reactors, which have become a "training desk" for several generations of Chinese submariners, will soon become a thing of the past.

At the beginning of 2007, the head multi-purpose nuclear submarine pr. 093 (of the Shan type) was put into operation. It was designed to replace the obsolete nuclear submarines pr. 091. In terms of its main characteristics, this Chinese boat roughly corresponds to the Soviet multi-purpose nuclear-powered ships pr. 671RTM. As of the beginning of 2014, the Chinese Navy had two nuclear submarines of project 093, the arrival of two more built according to an improved project is expected in the near future.

Nuclear submarine pr. 093

Project 093 nuclear submarines have the ability to launch YJ-82 anti-ship cruise missiles through torpedo tubes while submerged. There is also information that these nuclear submarines use the new YJ-85 (S-705) with a launch range of up to 140 km. On the YJ-85 anti-ship missiles, depending on the modification, active radar or infrared seekers are used. Course correction on the marching leg of the flight occurs according to the signals of the satellite positioning system.

According to the ten-year program, it is expected that in the next 10 years, 6 more Shan-type boats will be built. In addition, the PRC is designing a new generation of nuclear submarines, which, in terms of their characteristics, should come close to Russian and American nuclear submarines.

The Asia-Pacific region is recognized by many experts as one of the most important in the coming decades. Here are important transport routes, and dynamically developing countries with ever-increasing ambitions, and the most powerful fleets. No one today doubts that the fleet is the most promising way to project force anywhere on the Earth, and China is paying more and more attention to its development, since the Chinese Navy must compete with the American one. This is due to a radical change in the strategy of the People's Republic of China.

International experience and cooperation

There is a popular belief that China's behavior is traditionally not expansionist, and it has no intention of resolving disputes by military means. However, this does not mean that the PRC authorities do not realize the full importance of the development of the Armed Forces. The Chinese Navy today represents a large and dynamically developing branch of the armed forces, which is receiving increasing attention, and its importance is only increasing as the risks of shipping in the oceans increase.

Chinese culture, however, is famous for its ability to learn from the experience of others, making the most of it. In the case of an ambitious plan to build a fleet that could compete with the United States, international cooperation comes to the rescue.

However, in the matter of building a powerful fleet, one cannot do without aircraft-carrying cruisers, which the People's Republic did not have until recently. In order to correct this situation, it was necessary to turn to the help of Ukraine, from which the Varyag aircraft carrier was bought, later renamed Liaoning.

Technology and money

The Chinese authorities are used to the fact that they can buy almost everything they need on the world market, unscrew it and extract the technology they need from there. However, this method works only up to a certain limit, beyond which difficulties begin, which can hardly be eliminated thanks to ordinary espionage.

After all, it is not enough to get a ready-made aircraft carrier, you also need to clearly understand how it will function, provide it with the necessary supply and repair base. And technological development requires not only huge financial injections, but also a significant intellectual tradition aimed at solving a specific problem.

Considering the fact that China began to develop its navy so actively relatively recently, it can be assumed that it is still far from superiority over other maritime powers. However, things can really reach numerical parity. According to official data, which, perhaps, should not be completely trusted, the republic spends about two hundred billion on the Armed Forces, and this figure is likely to grow significantly in the next decade.

At the same time, the number of ships should reach 350 units, among which there will be new aircraft carriers.

Composition of the Chinese Navy

The Chinese fleet consists of 183 ships, numerous naval aviation and 215,000 military personnel who serve all this power. It is worth noting that the United States, the most powerful military power, has 188 ships of various classes. However, it makes no sense to compare only the number, because the Chinese Navy uses its ships differently. And the Celestial Empire is oriented towards other tasks.

From an organizational point of view, the Chinese Navy is divided into three fleets:

• Northern, operating in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Bay.
• Vostochny, whose area of ​​responsibility is the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
• Southern, operating in the South China Sea.

Despite the fact that each of these fleets is important for the country's defense capability, the Southern one is of particular importance, since it is in this region that disputed territories are located, because of which there is constant tension between China and the United States, as well as other regional players, including Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.

At this point, it is worth stopping and describing in more detail how, until recently, China represented the sphere of its interests, and how ideas about it are changing in the modern world.

The destroyers of the Chinese Navy guard the economic zone of the PRC in the South China and Yellow Seas, provide a presence in the Pacific, and more recently in the Indian Ocean.

Battle for the sea. New masters of the Indian Ocean

If the Chinese government plans to really increase its power at the expense of the navy and the presence of its representatives in the most important regions of the world, then it cannot do without the construction of naval bases.

The fact that the authorities are fully aware of this fact confirms the start of construction of new Chinese naval bases in the Indian Ocean.

It is assumed that with the completion of construction, the Chinese fleet will control the entire ocean, and in addition, have greater political weight in those countries where military bases will be built. Among the countries that responded to the proposal of the Chinese authorities on the construction are Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Seychelles, Pakistan, Oman, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Thus, the Chinese Navy will have one of the most extensive networks of naval bases that only the United States can compete with.

History of the Chinese Navy

China, whose navy is developing so actively, is causing increasing concern to its neighbors, but probably is not going to change its plans. Remembering past defeats, the country's authorities intend to make the PRC one of the leading powers of our time.

Chinese Navy in the 19th century. presented a depressing sight - outdated wooden boats were equipped with no less outdated artillery. It was this state of the armed forces that led the country to defeat, first in the Opium Wars, then to the overthrow of the monarchy, and then to civil war.

However, already in the middle of the twentieth century, not without the help of the USSR, the situation began to improve, and China had modern weapons However, internal upheavals did not create prerequisites for the dynamic development of the fleet.

The situation changed dramatically in the late 1980s, when Liu Huaqing took over the fleet. Under his leadership, the Chinese Navy, which was greatly enlarged a decade ago, has focused on improving the quality and technological developments, which were designed to increase the country's combat power and increase its representation on the world stage.

The direction of rocket science was chosen as a priority for technological development. New types of missiles were developed, which were supposed to strengthen not only the destroyers of the Chinese Navy, but also the aviation of the fleet.

However, despite significant progress in shipbuilding, China still adhered to the strategy of a regional player, extremely rarely withdrawing the fleet to remote water areas. The situation began to change in the 21st century, when a new generation of politicians came to power with an expansionist mindset.

Challenge to the global community

Since the PRC began to actively increase army funding, many specialists in international politics There were justified fears that the authorities of the country would sooner or later challenge the existing system of distribution of forces not only in the region, but also in the world.

However, the main driver of significant changes that have occurred with the Chinese fleet is not politics at all, but economics. Most of the energy resources and other raw materials China receives as imports from other countries. Most cargo transportation is carried out by sea, as this is the most cheap way, which is quite often unsafe in those regions through which the most important maritime communications for the PRC pass.

Piracy and territorial disputes very often threaten maritime transportation, and it is to ensure the safety of navigation in the Indian Ocean that China is building more and more new bases on its shores.

Buying Technology

China has vast experience in technological cooperation with other countries. During the civil war, the Armed Forces of this country received significant technical and informational support from the Soviet Union.

The most significant gift from the Soviet government was atomic bomb that put China in the club of the world's most powerful powers. However, even after the collapse of the USSR, cooperation continued, but on a more mutually beneficial basis. China began to buy ready-made weapons and licenses for their production from Russia. In addition, the PRC gained access to Soviet technology through the purchase of weapons from some post-Soviet countries.

In the 21st century, obvious advantages were found in the form of cooperation in which joint ventures are created with the participation of Chinese capital and Russian technologies. According to this scheme, fighters are produced and developed in China and India.

However, cooperation between the Russian Federation and China is not limited to aircraft construction and production aircraft engines. Since 1990, Russia has been supplying the PRC with various submarines, the cost of which in 2002 exceeded one and a half billion dollars.

In addition to submarines, the flag of the Chinese Navy flew over two Russian destroyers transferred to Chinese partners in 1999-2000. In all cases, economic interests were decisive for the Russian side, while China was guided by the interests of technological and military development. However, the situation changed markedly after the publication in 2017 of a document regulating the development of the Russian Navy until 2030.

Competition for the ocean

As it has already become clear, not only China is striving for dominance in the sea, but also other countries. The President of Russia ordered the Russian Navy to catch up and overtake China in terms of fleet tonnage, that is, to take second place after the United States, with which competition is almost impossible.

Thus, the main struggle will unfold for regional leadership, since the projection of force over considerable distances requires the presence of powerful aircraft carrier groups, including both modern aircraft carriers and support ships, as well as aviation that meets the requirements for modern combat vehicles.

Although China recently acquired its first aircraft-carrying cruiser, it still lags far behind in terms of technology and avionics. For example, after reconstruction, the Liaoning still uses numerous outdated installations, among which there is one of the most important - a catapult that accelerates aircraft to the required speed during takeoff.

Since the Liaoning is just a slightly updated Soviet aircraft carrier, the appropriate technologies are used on it. Obviously, in such a short period of time, Chinese engineers failed to make a technological breakthrough, since the main forces went to get used to the technical heritage of the USSR.

It is known that Chinese diplomats and the military for a long time tried to buy the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft-carrying cruiser from the Russian Navy, however, for political reasons, Russia refused this deal, preferring Indian partners, who received this ship formally for free, but with the obligation to pay Russian enterprises for modernization and construction of port infrastructure.

This case shows that the issue of technology ownership in modern conditions is the most important and surpasses mere possession in importance military equipment. After all, both China and India competed not so much for the ownership of the ship's hull, which they could build themselves, but also for modern high-tech equipment. In addition to this, the invaluable experience possessed by Russian shipbuilders also matters in such matters.

There are also problems with guidance systems for ship-based missiles, launches of which are by no means always successful. However, such difficulties can be attributed to technical problems and the novelty of developments that have not yet passed all the stages of testing. Comparing the Russian and Chinese navies in the context of the excessively closed Chinese military budget seems difficult, but repeated joint exercises and a generally not too aggressive situation allow us to hope that the confrontation between the two fleets will not happen in the near future.

Fleet symbols

Like any other fleet, the Chinese has its own symbols. The flag of the Chinese Navy is a red flag with an aspect ratio of 5:4 and with a red star and hieroglyphs indicating the date 08/01/1927, which is of great importance in the history of the Celestial Navy. The red color of the banner means valor, courage and blood shed by Chinese soldiers in battles with the troops of Chiang Kai-shek.

It is worth noting that April 23 is considered the Day of the Navy in China, it was on this day in 1949 that the fleet of the new state was founded. And then the famous Nanchang uprising took place, which marked the beginning of a long and bloody, but liberation war. The struggle of the Chinese Communists allowed the Chinese Communist Party to establish the power of the Soviets throughout China, excluding the island of Taiwan, which still does not want to submit to the central government of the PRC.

Disputed territories

However, most main task of a renewed and noticeably strengthened fleet will be the protection of the sovereignty of the PRC and its economic interests in Southeast Asia.

There are several disputed areas in the waters of the PRC, which are claimed by neighboring states, and some of them, by the way, are supported by the United States. The largest and most fundamental subject of disputes are several islands in the South China Sea.

These islands, known as the Spratlys, are located in the southwestern part of the South China Sea. Several states have been claiming them for more than a decade. At one point or another, and with varying intensity, six states have been involved in the dispute: Vietnam, China, Taiwan, the Sultanate of Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

China is trying to prove that Chinese navigators were the first to discover this archipelago. However, there are no scientifically proven facts. Meanwhile, it is reliably known that the first owners of the island were the Spaniards, who opened them to Europeans in 1929.

The islands cause fierce disputes and skirmishes between representatives of the American and Chinese military. While American sailors are trying to defend the right of passage in neutral waters, the Chinese authorities insist on the sovereignty of the waters of the islands.

In its desire to gain a foothold on the islands, the Chinese Navy began to build artificial structures on the reefs and Spratly atolls, which is directly prohibited by international law and provokes aggressive opposition from the Philippines, which is actively patronized by the United States.

Asian countries pay so much attention to the archipelago because of the huge reserves of oil and gas, which, according to geologists, are contained at the bottom of the South China Sea, but for China it is also a matter of prestige and safety of navigation, because in this area from time to time there are attacks by pirates that could interfere with the transit of Chinese goods to Europe and the export of raw materials and fuel to China.

In the near future, we should expect continued friction between American and Chinese politicians, each of whom will try to defend the interests of his state, and the outcome of this confrontation is difficult to predict, since each side has many of its own interests, supporters and opponents.

One of the most accessible ways to convey one's position to a partner is the parade of the Chinese Navy, which is regularly held and timed to coincide with various public holidays and the Founding Day of the Chinese Navy. However, internationally significant dates can often serve as an occasion for reviewing troops. For example, in 2017, a Chinese Navy parade was held to mark the end of World War II.

The Chinese Navy's submarine flotilla in the South China Sea this month added a search and rescue squad for the first time. This is the second unit of its kind in the Chinese Navy. Prior to this, a similar detachment was created in 2011 in the Northern Fleet, but it carried out operations in the interests of all the Navy, for which it hardly had the strength. The emergence of a new unit, which has been nicknamed the "underwater ambulance", is associated with the increasing activity of China in southern waters in the areas of the disputed islands and with the increase in the number of Chinese submarines in the region. The detachment is called upon to assist submarines at sea in case of accidents and malfunctions, to rescue crews and carry out the most simple repair work.

On the one hand, the Chinese military say that with the growth of the submarine fleets of other countries in the region, the risk of accidents for submarines is also growing, on the other hand, they do not hide that the new detachment will now allow the Chinese Navy to operate at longer distances in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and that it simply is essential in the event of hostilities.

In September, a new nuclear submarine armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles was handed over to the Chinese navy. This was reported by China's largest shipbuilding company China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC). The class of the boat is not specified, but most likely it is a submarine of projects 093 or 094. The boat of project 094 is capable of carrying up to 12 JL-2 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Although there are suggestions that this may be the latest Project 096 boat. American military experts believe that modern Project 096 boats will be commissioned no earlier than in the 2020s, but a number of Chinese analysts report that the creation of new submarines may be accelerated pace. The Ministry of Defense of China did not comment on the information about the introduction of a new nuclear submarine into the fleet.

The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies has published its brief overview of China's submarine fleet. According to the Institute, China has four Project 094 (Jin) nuclear submarines armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles (and given the previous news, it may already be five boats of this project), three Project 091 (Han) nuclear boats, two Project 093 nuclear boats (Shan-I) and four 093A nuclear boats (Shan-II) armed with cruise missiles. The Institute, citing the Pentagon, reports that before 2020, China is unlikely to commission at least one new nuclear submarine. The Han boats will be gradually replaced by the Shan-II submarines and withdrawn from the Chinese submarine fleet, but this is not so much due to outdated equipment, but to the lack of qualified submariners to keep the boats of both projects in service at the same time.

Context

How dangerous are Russian and Chinese submarines?

The Russian fleet is more combat-ready than it seems

Asia Arms for Submarine Warfare

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, today the composition of submarine fleets is as follows:

. Northern Fleet - 8 boats of project 039 ("Sun"), 3-4 boats of project 039B ("Yuan") and 3-5 boats of project 035 ("Ming").

. Eastern Fleet - 8-9 boats of project 039A / B ("Yuan") and 8 of project 877 (export version of the Russian boat of project 636 "Varshavyanka").

. Southern Fleet - 8 boats of project 035 ("Min"), 4 boats of project 039 ("Sun") and 4 boats of project 877 (export version of the Russian boat of project 636 "Varshavyanka").

China's shipbuilding industry is capable of producing up to three Project 039A/B ("Yuan") boats per year. By 2020, it is expected that 20 submarines of this class will be in service. Total number of all combat-ready boats in China by this year will be 58 units.

The National Interest notes that the next Project 096 (Tan) nuclear submarines will be armed with 24 intercontinental ballistic missiles with a range of up to 10 thousand kilometers, which will allow China to hit targets in the United States, launching near its coast. The publication discusses which submarine strategy China will choose: the Soviet strategy or the American one. The "Soviet" strategy (the Americans call it "bastion") implies that nuclear missile carriers will be reliably protected by a variety of means for "combat stability", have powerful shelters, bases, and be supported by the rest of the fleet. According to the Americans, this is due to the fact that noisy Soviet submarines could be easily found and destroyed in the ocean, and therefore required more protection. The concept of creating the "Northern Strategic Bastion", by the way, was really developed, but already in 1996 by the Russian Ministry of Defense and announced in 1998. The "American" strategy implies that China's new nuclear submarines will be technologically more advanced and quiet, which means they will be able to go on autonomous navigation for a long time to patrol the waters of the oceans.

It should be noted that Chinese submarines are already widely mastering the water world. For example, in September, returning from a patrol in the Gulf of Aden, a Chinese submarine visited Malaysia, marking the second visit by the Chinese Navy to the country in 2017. From the point of view of expanding the naval presence, one of the main achievements of the Chinese Navy can be considered the opening of the first foreign naval base in Djibouti. According to the official version, the base will be needed to supply and maintain Chinese ships that are fighting pirates in the Gulf of Aden. China constantly keeps about five ships and one submarine there on a rotational basis. According to the Indian Navy, who are frankly unnerved by this mini-fleet, Beijing is using the Gulf of Aden as a training ground for its sailors. At the same time, the activity of Chinese submarines is especially noted, whose crews get acquainted with the Indian Ocean, collect information about the operating environment, navigation conditions and the actions of the navies of other countries.

In October, Western experts also noted the emerging photos of a possible test launch of a subsonic / supersonic tactical cruise anti-ship missile YJ-18 from a submarine. The modern YJ-18 is a modification Russian system"Caliber", but there are opinions that the Chinese missile has a number of advantages, including a range of 400-500 kilometers. According to China Space News, the rocket has set records for high-altitude flight over the sea (flies low over water, which makes it difficult to find its bearing), launch depth and striking power. The modified YJ-18 for submarines is also the first missile in China's history to launch under water and control the missile's trajectory until it reaches the surface.

It is worth noting that today China is not only developing its submarine fleet, but also engaged in the export of military submarines. In October, confirmation came that Pakistan would stick to an agreement to buy eight submarines from China worth between four and five billion dollars. The first four boats should be delivered by 2023, and four more will be assembled in Karachi by 2028. Analysts believe that it is export version diesel-electric boat project 039/041 ("Yuan"). In the same year, Bangladesh commissioned two submarines purchased from China. Thailand has also been eyeing Chinese submarines since the spring.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.