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Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been selected to build the U.S. Navy’s next large-deck amphibious assault warship, LHA 8. Today’s contract value, for the planning, advanced engineering and procurement of long-lead material, is $272,467,161. The award includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $3.1 billion.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been selected to perform the majority of the contract design work for the U.S. Navy’s amphibious warfare ship replacement, known as LX(R). The Department of Defense made the announcement Thursday at the same time Ingalls was awarded a contract to build the next large-deck amphibious assault warship, LHA 8.

LX(R) will replace the Navy’s Harpers Ferry- and Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships and will use the same hull as the San Antonio (LPD 17) class. Ingalls has delivered 10 of the LPD 17 ships to the Navy, is currently building the 11th, Portland (LPD 27), and has received more than $300 million in advance procurement funding for the 12th, Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).

China's fourth Type 052D guided-missile destroyer (NATO reporting name Luyang III class) with hull number 175 should be commissioned with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) soon said Cao Weidong, a Chinese military expert, in an interview with China Center Television.

According to Xinhua, the official press agency of the People's Republic of China, Thai Deputy Premier Prawit Wongsuwan confirmed on Friday that Thailand will buy three Chinese-built submarines for a combined price of one billion U.S. dollars. The Royal Thai Navy's proposal to procure the three S26T submarines from China has been put on hold since last year by the deputy premier who is concurrently defense minister.

The air wing of Russia’s aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will attack militants in Syria from the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea in October 2016 - January 2017, a military and diplomatic source in Moscow told TASS.

Russia’s Project 11435 aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will receive the Kamov Ka-52K (NATO reporting name: Hokum-B) helicopter this year, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said. Borisov made this statement during a visit to the Progress Aircraft-Manufacturing Enterprise in Arsenyev in Russia’s Far East.

Defence and security company Saab has received an order from the Australian Government regarding sustainment of the combat system on Australia's ANZAC class frigates. The order value amounts to AUD 37 million (approximately SEK 248 million) and covers services from July 2016 until December 2017.

Defence and security company Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) to modify and upgrade two Swedish Navy Koster-class mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs). The order covers the period 2016-2017 and the order value amounts to SEK147 million. Work on the vessels will be undertaken in Karlskrona.

China’s ‘chubby girl’ transport aircraft enters PLA service
Homegrown air transport marks ‘crucial step’ in projection of power
13 MINUTES AGO by: Charles Clover in Beijing

China’s largest ever military aircraft entered service on Wednesday, a hulking transport capable of sending troops and tanks around the world at a moment’s notice.

The Y-20 Kunpeng, nicknamed “chubby girl”, arrives at a time when Beijing is plotting a new global mission for its 2m-strong People’s Liberation Army, from peacekeeping in Africa to anti-piracy in the Indian Ocean.

The aircraft, which is equipped with Russian engines, has a cargo capacity of 66 tonnes, making it the world’s largest military transport currently in production.

The Y-20 “marks a crucial step for the air force improving its strategic power projection capability,” Shen Jinke, PLA Air Force spokesman, told state news agency Xinhua.

Experts say the Y-20 bears a marked resemblance to the US Boeing C-17 transport, which has not been produced since last year. It can carry a single Type 99 tank, China’s most advanced, which weighs about 50 tonnes, along with troops and other equipment. It has a maximum range of 7,800km partially loaded — roughly the distance between Beijing and Cairo.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert, said about a dozen of the aircraft would be operating within the next year or two, and eventually 200-300 would be produced. The Y-20 will gradually replace the fleet of Chinese Y-8 and Russian Ilyushin 76 cargo aircraft, the current workhorses of China’s military airlift capacity.

The Y-20 makes China only the third nation in the world to design and build its own transport aircraft, along with Russia and the US.

The Russian-Ukrainian Antonov-124 Ruslan is officially the world’s largest transport aircraft, with a payload nearly twice that of the Y-20 but it is out of production and work on upgrading the existing fleet has been frozen since 2014 due to tensions between Moscow and Kiev, according to press reports.

The rollout of the Y-20 takes place amid a rethink of military strategy by China, which sees itself gradually taking on missions farther from its borders. In November China announced the establishment of its first foreign military base, in Djibouti, as a hub to resupply the more than 2,000 Chinese troops taking part in African peacekeeping operations as well as Chinese anti-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean.

A new counter-terrorism law adopted by Beijing this year allows China to station troops abroad for the first time to participate in counter-terrorism operations.

Last year China’s defence ministry released a white paper on strategy that emphasised the evolution of the country’s security needs away from simple territorial defence towards an offensive capacity overseas.

Additional reporting by Ma Fangjing

ORIGINAL: Dysta

State news check,
Photo-grade pictures check,
Official ceremony check,
Serials numbers, visible from numerous pictures.
Scenario opportunity high,
Database readiness, 0%...... Wait what??

Last I checked before SR1, there is no Y-20, and I am still busying to confirm its payload and fuel capacity, as well as its speed at different stages (from loiter to full thrust) before I submit to DB3000 suggestion thread.

But now I know what bother me more, is the 'official' calling-name of it. There is no NATO code of her, while both 'Kunpeng' and 'fat lady/girl' are mostly heard from Internet news and forums. I think it have to be the developers' decision to choose which name suits before the update.

Little trivia:

I also drew Y-20 in Y-8/9's livery 3 years ago, with anthropomorphic Planes style. What a memory when I was excited its maiden flight. Well, she definitely need an update. [:'(]

AVIC report: China's Taihang engine widely deployed in military

China’s Taihang engines have become a significant, large-scale presence in the military, making China the third country in the world that has mass deployment of domestically-produced high-thrust engines for military use, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) annual report.
AVIC's social responsibility report showed that the company is capable of independently conducting research and development on the next generation of high-thrust aerial engines, along with advanced drones such as Wing Loong, which have also been deployed in the military.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has deployed no less than 400 Taihang engines in five air force regiments. Various types of fighter jets are equipped with the engine, including the J-11B and J-15 carrier-based fighter jets, reported China Science Communication, a news site under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. So far there have been no crashes due to engine failure among Taihang engine-equipped fighter jets, the news site also noted.
Some doubts have been voiced about the originality of the Taihang engine, as there are people who believe the Chinese-made engine is a copy of its Western counterparts. However, according to China Science Communication, the development of the Taihang engine was based on accumulated experience and technological advances gathered since 1978. The engine was also based partially on its predecessor, WS-6, which spent some 20 years in development.
Meanwhile, the engine also took inspiration from the control system of Russia's AL-31F aircraft turbofan engine, China Science Communication admitted, calling the Taihang engine a result of “independent development combined with technology from the Soviet Union and the U.S.”
“China has become the fourth country in the world to independently design and produce large transportation aircraft, as well as the third country to independently develop stealth fighter jets,” the AVIC report said, adding that China has advanced its air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles to the fourth generation.

The Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) Navy said on Thursday it has started design work on its domestic attack submarine programme, hoping to complete it in 2024. Navy Command Headquarters Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mei Chia-shu told a legislative committee session: “We plan to complete the design by 2019 and complete the construction by 2024.”

The submarine programme is part of Taiwan's new naval acquisition plan which was unveiled late last year. The ROC Navy also have a Destroyer programme as part of this plan.

Vice Admiral Hsiao Wei-min said last year that "at present the navy's demand is submarines ranging from 1,200-3,000 tons".

Mei said the navy signed a contract with a Dutch company earlier this year to extend the lifespan of the two subs so Taiwan could use the design blueprint as the basis for the construction of the first home-built submarine.

Defense contractors and the Russian Navy are looking into the feasibility of fitting all 1st- and 2nd-rank warships with nuclear main propulsion plants, according to the Lenta.ru online news agency. The decision is owing to Russia’s developing and making its own nuclear power plants, thus being independent of their import.

"We are talking a family of standardized power plants for surface ships with the displacement ranging from 4,000 tons (frigates) to 80,000 tons or more (aircraft carriers). The nuclear power plants are supposed to generate 40-200MW. Since the Navy’s requirement for 1st- and 2nd-rank ships in 20 years is estimated at 40, it would not be a problem to make this many power plants," a source told Lenta.ru.

Ships of a smaller displacement (corvettes, patrol ships, guided missile craft) as well as boats and amphibious assault ships may be equipped with the diesel power plants that have entered production in Russia. Diesel engines also may be used as auxiliary power units by 1st- and 2nd-rank ships.

The submarine “Pietro Venuti” was delivered July 6, 2016 at Fincantieri’s shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia). It is the third of the U212A “Todaro” class, a series of four sister units which the Central Unit for Naval Armament – NAVARM has ordered to Fincantieri for the Italian Navy.

The nEUROn unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator made several low altitude vertical passes above French Navy (Marine Nationale) aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. These tests which took place July 6, 2016 were conducted by the French Procurement Agency (DGA) in conjunction with the French Navy and Dassault Aviation. They are part of a test campaign which objective is to study the use of a UCAV in a naval environment involving several vessels of the French Navy.

The test campaign includes interactions at sea with the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to assess the nEUROn's stealthiness relative to the naval platforms sensors. The DGA provides the project management while Dassault Aviation acts as prime contractor.

ORIGINAL: hellfish6

I'll be disappointed if the French have a naval UCAV dropping bombs before the USN does.

North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its east coast on Saturday, but the missile failed in its initial flight stage, according to Yonhap News Agency citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The missile was fired from waters southeast of the coastal port city of Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, at around 11:30 a.m., according to the military.

On July 6th, the French Navy Naval Aviation Practical Experimentation Center (centre d’expérimentations pratiques de l’aéronautique navale - CEPA 10S) and the crew of Charles de Gaulle tested for the first time a Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft aboard the French aircraft carrier.

Interesting pictures have emerged from China showing what could well be the first construction blocks of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) future Type 055 Guided-Missile Destroyer (DDG).

At the 14th Baltic Military Fair BALT-MILITARY-EXPO 2016 held in June in Gdansk, Poland, MMC Ship Design & Marine Consulting Ltd (MMC) & Remontowa Shipbuilding (Remontowa) unveiled a novel concept: A Stealth Logistic Support Vessel. MMC is an independent design company specializing in ships for the offshore industry and specialist ships. Remontowa is a member of Remontowa holding and a leading shipyard in Poland.

MMC and Remontowa are partner in this project which was launched recently to answer a future Polish Navy need for ocean going support vessel(s). The main characteristics of the vessel are the following: Length over all 116.36 meters; Maximum Breadth 17.90 meters; Displacement of 6,100 tons.

Youtube of the day: The much-talked about South China Sea combat drill

Most noteworthy is the YJ-12 Supersonic Anti-Ship Missile being launched by a H-6 bomber. The YJ-12 has a reported range of 400KM and a top speed of March 4.
The Chinese navy conducted combat drills near its southern island province of Hainan and the Paracel islands in the South China Sea, the ministry of defence said on July 9.

The drills come ahead of a July 12 ruling by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on a case brought by the Philippines disputing several of China‘s territory claims in the South China Sea.
Ships from China‘s northern, eastern and southern fleets participated in July 8 drills, which focused on air control, surface operations and anti-submarine warfare, among other training exercises, the ministry said in a website statement.

China claims nearly all the South China Sea, but its claims overlap in part with those of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

China has repeatedly said it does not consider any decision reached by the arbitration court to be legally binding.
“China adheres to the position of settling disputes through negotiation and consultation with states directly concerned,” state news agency Xinhua said in a commentary on July 9.
“This has always been China‘s policy, and it will never change.”
(Reuters)