NAVY NEWS WEEK 35-1

26 August 2018

Australian HMAS Sheean returns from three-month Indo-Pacific deployment The Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarine HMAS Sheean returned home to Fleet Base West after almost three months of operations in the Indo-Pacific. The navy did not reveal which exercises the submarine joined and how many port visits the crew made. The only known port visit was the one to Malaysia, which took place in July.

HMAS Sheean berths alongside Diamantina Pier at Fleet Base West, Western Australia. Photo: RAN

Commodore Buckley, who exercised operational control of Sheean throughout the deployment, is also a previous Commander of the Submarine Force. ―It‟s been a few years since I stood here to welcome back one of our boats, and I am delighted to be here today,‖ he said. ―HMAS Sheean performed exceptionally well in their recent theatre deployment. “The deployed presence of RAN in the Indo-Pacific underpins their vital role as the national maritime strategic deterrent capability.‖ Commander Submarine Force Captain Geoff Wadley also acknowledged the importance of an effective submarine force and noted the hard work put into the submarine enterprise by both military and civilian organizations. ―It’s been a busy year for our boats, which has resulted in significant submarine activity around Australia and overseas,‖ he said. ―It‟s important and gratifying to see everyone in the submarine community, no matter what they do, contribute to providing Australia with a potent and reliable submarine capability.‖ Source: Naval Today

Royal Navy sailors recognized for accomplishments under “missile threat”

HMS Daring accompanying USNS Brittin. Photo:

The crew of Royal Navy Type 45 HMS Daring will be awarded a new medal clasp for bravery shown during Bab al- Mandeb strait escort missions in 2016. Announcing the recognition, the Royal Navy said HMS Daring sailors braved the threat of missile attack to protect merchant ships in the Middle East. The new medal – named the Gulf of Aden Clasp – was approved by Her Majesty The Queen and will be introduced for those who served on board HMS Daring during the missions. The intense mission began after an attack on a merchant vessel, the MV Swift, off the coast of Yemen in October 2016. Portsmouth-based HMS Daring was already headed to the area at the start of a nine-month deployment on maritime security operations. The destroyer and her 260-strong crew then conducted 20 patrols of the area threatened by land-based missiles and explosive boats in the hands of Houthi rebels. With the ship’s advanced surveillance radar and Sea Viper missile system, they ensured the critical choke point for world trade remained free-flowing. Defense secretary Gavin Williamson said: ―Maritime trade is the lifeblood of Britain‟s economy and the Royal Navy plays a key role in protecting important trade routes. The extraordinary achievements of HMS Daring‟s ship‟s company, under constant missile threat, is a testament to the skill and bravery of the men and women of the Navy. “Their award of the Gulf of Aden Clasp is thoroughly deserved and they should wear it with pride.‖ HMS Daring’s crew operated for 50 days under threat of attack, safeguarding 800,000 tons of merchant shipping. Each transit of the chokepoint was conducted at the highest degree of readiness. Sailors and Royal Marines who were on board at the time will be awarded the clasp, which is worn with the General Service Medal, later this year. Those who do not already possess the medal will be awarded it. Commander Phil Dennis, who was the commanding officer of HMS Daring at the time of the operation, said: ―This is wonderful recognition of the immense efforts of my team in HMS Daring during such a vital mission which ultimately helped protect Britain’s economy and safeguard world trade. ―There was a significant and viable threat from both surface and air attack at the time, but throughout that threat my team performed brilliantly, calling upon their world-class training to rise to the challenge. After passing east of the Suez Canal, Daring first escorted the Royal Navy’s Joint Expeditionary Force task group. As well as providing air defense, Daring helped protect the task group’s ships from the threat of waterborne attack, carrying Royal Navy and Royal Marines boarding parties to counter piracy, terrorists and smugglers. She later accompanied the significant amount of merchant shipping through the narrow lanes of the southern Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait. Several other Royal Navy ships have since maintained patrols and maritime security duties in the region since the threat has de-escalated. Earlier this month, Daring‟s sister ship HMS Diamond was called upon to monitor the movements of two Russian warships as they passed through the English Channel. Source: Naval Today

Varyag and other Pacific Fleet ships to conduct live firing exercises in Sea of Okhotsk The ships of the fleet’s largest group are expected to interact with the ships and aircraft of the Army and Forces in Northeastern Russia

Photo: Yuri Smitiuk/TASS

MOSCOW, August 20. A group of Pacific Fleet ships, which includes the Varyag missile cruiser and the Bystry destroyer, has entered the Sea of Okhotsk, in which it will carry out missile and artillery firing exercises, said the fleet’s spokesman, Captain 2nd rank Nikolai Voskresensky, on Monday. "A group of Pacific Fleet naval ships, including the Varyag missile cruiser, the Bystry destroyer and the Admiral Tributs, Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Panteleyev large anti-submarine ships, has embarked on the performance of tasks in the Sea of Okhotsk area. The ships will carry out joint missile and artillery firing drills at training military ranges as part of scheduled tactical training," Voskresensky said. "The ships of the fleet’s largest group are expected to interact with the ships and aircraft of the Army and Forces in Northeastern Russia," the officer added. He specified that while moving from Vladivostok the ships carried out anti-submarine drills, during which they found and tracked an "enemy" submarine with the use of Ka-27 helicopters. The crews also hammered out the group’s air defense, developed joint tactical maneuvering and trained to render help to a vessel "in distress." Source: TASS

Canadian getting shipboard electronic countermeasures upgrades Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigates are set to benefit from improved shipboard electronic countermeasures systems under a contract announced by the Canadian defense minister on August 17. According to defense minister Harjit S. Sajjan, the government of Canada has awarded Lockheed Martin Canada a CAD$94.2 million contract to maintain and overhaul the Reprogrammable Advance Multimode Shipboard Electronic Countermeasures System (RAMSES).

The Halifax-class HMCS Montreal. Photo: RCN

This countermeasure upgrade contract follows a similar one, awarded in June this year, for the installation of Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS) automated decoys which will provide the frigates with 360° protection against anti-ship missiles. It is a firing system used to launch decoys to project vessels against anti-ship missiles guided by radio frequency, laser and infrared seekers. RAMSES is an electronic attack system that protects the modernized Halifax-class frigates against radio frequency guided missiles. It employs jamming signals to track and distract anti-ship missiles from hitting the ship. MASS is an integral part of the anti-ship missile defense suite. Through the contract, key parts of RAMSES will undergo a technology refresh. The contract also secures repair, overhaul, engineering changes, and ongoing support services. This work will ensure the system remains relevant and capable for the life of the Halifax-class frigates. ―These investments in our Royal Canadian Navy will provide our women and men in uniform with what they need for successful missions, and deliver jobs, both here in British Columbia and across Canada for years to come,‖ defense minister Harjit S. Sajjan said. Source: Naval Today

Pentagon report says China’s violating international laws and preparing for war against the US by Alex Hollings · August 20, 2018 · Foreign Policy Although the breadth of American media attention has been focused on the hybrid warfare threat posed by Russia, it is widely believed that Vladimir Putin’s nation wouldn’t have the economic strength required to sustain an actual war with a nation like the United States. In fact, despite possessing a few high profile ―doomsday‖ style weapons, the threat Russia poses to American diplomatic and military dominance pales in comparison to the nation’s only real near-peer level threat: China. In an annual report provided to Congress by the Defense Department, the Pentagon outlined China’s hypocritical approach to naval activities in recent years, as well as evidence to suggest that China is already training for long-range bombing runs against America’s Pacific assets. ―Over the last three years, the PLA (People‟s Liberation Army) has rapidly expanded its overwater bomber operating areas, gaining experience in critical maritime regions and likely training for strikes against US and allied targets,‖ the document says in no uncertain terms. The report goes on to list specific instances in which Chinese bombers on training runs have diverted into new areas of the Pacific as compared to previous training operations. These new areas brought Chinese bombers closer than ever to American installations in the Pacific and serve as a powerful indicator that China is preparing for the potential need to bomb American assets in Japan and even as far away as Guam. Per the Pentagon’s analysis, the most likely short-term reason America could find itself in conflict with China is if China chooses to use force in order to reassert control over Taiwan. ―The PLA also is likely preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with China by force, while simultaneously deterring, delaying, or denying any third-party intervention on Taiwan‟s behalf,‖ it states. “Should the United States intervene, China would try to delay effective intervention and seek victory in a high-intensity, limited war of short duration.‖ Despite China’s rapidly growing military (particularly its Navy), the and powerful economy, the People’s Liberation Army currently lacks the means of transportation or reliable supply chain to mount an offensive in the Western hemisphere, meaning a fight with China would undoubtedly take place in the Pacific, and closer to China’s growing claims of territorial waters. The People’s Liberation Army-Navy has moved quickly to deploy more than twenty new vessels in recent years, including two new carriers — one of which is currently undergoing sea trials with the other still under construction. However, the majority of their Navy still relies on diesel fuel, forcing them to keep operations relatively close to their own shores or the ports of friendly nations. China’s military budget in the last fiscal year was reportedly $190 billion, which while dwarfed by that of the United States, is currently benefited by a lack of global footprint. The U.S., which spent a whopping $700 billion on defense in the last fiscal year, maintains a global footprint, with ongoing combat operations in multiple theaters while simultaneously offering humanitarian aid and a stabilizing presence on multiple other fronts. China, on the other hand, has remained mostly uninvolved in the global war on terror, allowing them to focus on developing a stronger defense apparatus within their own region. A war with China would likely be fought in their territory, and their defensive apparatus would be significant. The report also addresses China’s increasingly aggressive expansion in waterways like the South China Sea. China’s claims of sovereignty over nearly the entire waterway, stretching thousands of miles from Chinese shores, has put the nation at odds with a number of Pacific nations. Throughout, China has issues complaints about foreign vessels operating within Chinese sovereign waters, calling these violations of international law despite much of the rest of the world refusing to acknowledge China’s claimed ownership of what most still see as international waters.

This DOD image shows the progression of Chinese violations of foreign state exclusive economic zones dating back through 2014. | Department of Defense

Tellingly, despite China’s lamentations about foreign vessels encroaching on waters they have no legal right to, the Pentagon report also outlined China’s repeated operations within the exclusive economic zone of a number of different nations — showing clearly that while China continues to call for other nations to respect the waters they claim as their own, China offers no such respect in return. ―Although China has long challenged foreign military activities in its maritime zones in a manner that is inconsistent with the rules of customary international law as reflected in the [law of the sea convention], the PLA has recently started conducting the very same types of military activities inside and outside the first island chain in the maritime zones of other countries,‖ the report reads. ―This contradiction highlights China‟s continued lack of commitment to the rules of customary international law.‖ Source; https://thenewsrep.com

Exposed: Pentagon Report Spotlights China’s Maritime Militia August 20, 2018 For countering China’s shadowy Third Sea Force—the Maritime Militia—sunlight is the best disinfectant and demonstrated awareness is an important element of deterrence. This year’s Department of Defense report to Congress offers both. by Andrew S. Erickson Finally, some good news from Washington! Last Thursday the Pentagon released its annual report to Congress on military and security developments involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The single most important revelation alone justifies the 145-page report’s $108,000 cost many times over. Even more than when last year’s report mentioned it for the first time, the U.S. government has officially deployed the formidable credibility of the world’s foremost intelligence collection and analytical capabilities to shine a spotlight and expose the shadowy People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM). Previously, in beltway bureaucracy, the PAFMM was mentioned by Ronald O’Rourke in his Congressional Research Service report and by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which rightly recommended that the Department of Defense address this vital subject. Indeed, there is no substitute for the Pentagon’s credibility in this regard. By releasing these important facts officially and authoritatively, the 2018 report has performed a signal service. Beijing uses the PAFMM to advance its disputed sovereignty claims across the South and East China Seas. The Maritime Militia, China’s third sea force, often operates in concert with China’s first sea force (the Navy) and second sea force (the Coast Guard). In an unprecedented accompanying Fact Sheet, the Pentagon’s 2018 report offers a recent example: ―China . . . is willing to employ coercive measures to advance its interests and mitigate other countries‟ opposition. . . . In August 2017, China conducted a coordinated PLA Navy (PLAN), China Coast Guard (CCG), and People‟s Armed Forces Maritime Militia patrol around Thitu Island and planted a flag on Sandy Cay, a sandbar within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef and Thitu Island, possibly in response to the Philippines‟ reported plans to upgrade its runway on Thitu Island.‖ Each PRC sea service is the maritime division of one of China’s three armed services, and each is the world’s largest by number of ships. ―The PLAN, CCG, and People‟s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) form the largest maritime force in the Indo-Pacific,‖ the report emphasizes. First, ―The PLAN is the region‟s largest navy, with more than 300 surface combatants, submarines, amphibious ships, patrol craft, and specialized types.‖ It is also the world’s largest navy numerically; as of August 17, 2018, the U.S. Navy has 282 deployable battle-force ships. Second, ―Since 2010, the CCG‟s fleet of large patrol ships (more than 1,000 tons) has more than doubled from approximately 60 to more than 130 ships,‖ the report adds, ―making it by far the largest coast guard force in the world and increasing its capacity to conduct simultaneous, extended offshore operations in multiple disputed areas.‖ Third, Beijing has what is clearly the world’s largest and most capable maritime militia. One of the few maritime militia forces in existence today at all, it is virtually the only one charged with involvement in sovereignty disputes. Only Vietnam, one of the very last countries politically and bureaucratically similar to China, is known to have a roughly equivalent force with a roughly equivalent mission. Moreover, when it comes to forces at sea—militia or otherwise— Hanoi is simply not in the same league as Beijing and cannot compete either quantitatively or qualitatively. Beijing’s use of the PAFMM undermines vital American and international interests in maintaining the regional status quo, including the rules and norms on which peace and prosperity depend. PAFMM forces engage in gray zone operations, at a level specifically designed to frustrate effective response by the other parties involved. One PRC source terms this PAFMM participation in ―low-intensity maritime rights protection struggles‖; the Pentagon’s report describes broader PAFMM and CCG ―use of low- intensity coercion in maritime disputes.” “During periods of tension, official statements and state media seek to portray China as reactive,‖ the report explains. ―China uses an opportunistically timed progression of incremental but intensifying steps to attempt to increase effective control over disputed areas and avoid escalation to military conflict.‖ In particular, ―PAFMM units enable low-intensity coercion activities to advance territorial and maritime claims.” Because the PAFMM is virtually unique and tries to operate deceptively under the radar, it has remained publicly obscure for far too long even as it trolls with surprising success for advances in sovereignty disputes in seas along China’s contested periphery. Fortunately, the U.S. government is well aware of the PAFMM’s predations and monitors it closely. In providing such detailed coverage of the PAFMM in its latest report, the Pentagon has strongly validated key findings from the Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute’s (CMSI) open source research project on that subject, which is now entering its fifth year. In what follows, I share CMSI’s conclusions and the related text in the report. A component of the People’s Armed Forces, China’s PAFMM operates under a direct military chain of command to conduct state-sponsored activities. The PAFMM is locally supported, but answers to the very top of China’s military bureaucracy: Commander-in-Chief Xi Jinping himself. Part-time PAFMM units incorporate marine industry workers (e.g., fishermen) directly into China’s armed forces. As the Pentagon explains, ―The PAFMM is a subset of China‟s national militia, an armed reserve force of civilians available for mobilization. . . . Militia units organize around towns, villages, urban sub-districts, and enterprises, and vary widely in composition and mission.‖ While retaining day jobs, personnel (together with their ships) that meet the standards for induction into the PAFMM are organized and trained within the militia—as well as, in many cases, by China’s Navy—and activated on demand. As part of such efforts, ―A large number of PAFMM vessels train with and assist the PLAN and CCG in tasks such as safeguarding maritime claims, surveillance and reconnaissance, fishery protection, logistics support, and search and rescue.‖ To further support and encourage PAFMM efforts, ―The government subsidizes various local and provincial commercial organizations to operate militia vessels to perform „official‟ missions on an ad hoc basis outside of their regular civilian commercial activities.‖ Since 2015, starting in Sansha City in the Paracel Islands, China has been developing a new full-time PAFMM contingent: more professionalized, militarized, well-paid units including military recruits, crewing purpose-built vessels with mast- mounted water cannons for spraying and reinforced hulls for ramming. ―In the past, the PAFMM rented fishing vessels from companies or individual fishermen, but China has built a state-owned fishing fleet for at least part of its maritime militia force in the South China Sea,‖ the Pentagon expounds. ―The Hainan provincial government, adjacent to the South China Sea‖— whose important role in PAFMM development my colleague Conor M. Kennedy and I explain here, here, and here— ―ordered the building of 84 large militia fishing vessels with reinforced hulls and ammunition storage, which the militia received by the end of 2016, along with extensive subsidies to encourage frequent operations in the Spratly Islands.‖ The report elaborates: ―This particular PAFMM unit is also China‟s most professional, paid salaries independent of any clear commercial fishing responsibilities, and recruited from recently separated veterans.‖ Lacking fishing responsibilities, personnel train for peacetime and wartime contingencies, including with light arms, and deploy regularly to disputed South China Sea features even during fishing moratoriums. In July, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence issued the China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Coast Guard, and Government Maritime Forces 2018 Recognition and Identification Guide. The excerpt above shows three different types of purpose- built PAFMM vessels operated by the Sansha City Maritime Militia. PAFMM units have participated in manifold international sea incidents. As the Pentagon attests, ―The militia has played significant roles in a number of military campaigns and coercive incidents over the years, including the 2009 harassment of the USNS Impeccable conducting normal operations, the 2012 Scarborough Reef standoff, the 2014 Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil-rig standoff, and a large surge of ships in waters near the Senkakus in 2016.‖ The last of these is particularly significant, since it is now one of several publicly documented examples of PAFMM involvement in international incidents in the East China Sea, but had not been conclusively confirmed by previously known open sources. Other examples, as documented in CMSI research to date, include swarming into the Senkaku Islands’ territorial sea in 1978 and harassment of USNS Howard O. Lorenzen in 2014. So, while the vast majority of publicly revealed incidents involving PAFMM forces have occurred throughout the South China Sea, the PAFMM also clearly operates and has been empowered to engage in provocative activities in the East China Sea as well. Any PRC attempts to deny that the PAFMM operates in the East China Sea, including in disruptively close proximity to foreign forces, may therefore be easily disproven. The Pentagon is clear: ―The PAFMM . . . is active in the South and East China Seas.‖ This conclusive exposure of PAFMM activities in the East China Sea should be an important reminder to policy-makers in Tokyo and Washington alike that Beijing is certain to continue to wield its third sea force as a tool of choice to probe and apply pressure vis-à-vis the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands. These pinnacle-shaped features are the peak Sino- Japanese geographical flashpoint. As the current and previous U.S. administrations have affirmed explicitly, the Senkakus are covered under Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, which states, in part: ―Each Party recognizes that an armed attack against either Party in the territories under the administration of Japan would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional provisions and processes.‖ American and Japanese analysts and decision-makers should therefore redouble their efforts to share information and develop and implement potential countermeasures concerning the PAFMM. Here, as elsewhere, sunlight is the best disinfectant and demonstrated awareness is an important element of deterrence. Just as the Pentagon’s 2017 report was the first iteration to mention the PAFMM and this latest 2018 edition builds strongly on that foundation, it is to be hoped that the Japan Ministry of Defense’s Defense of Japan 2017 report—which likewise mentioned the PAFMM for the first time, albeit without explicit in-text reference to the East China Sea—will be followed with a 2018 edition offering far more robust PAFMM coverage, including detailed consideration of extant and potential future activities in the East China Sea. As mentioned above, the Pentagon’s latest report also stresses PAFMM involvement in the layered cabbage-style envelopment of the Philippines-claimed Sandy Cay shoal near Thitu Island in the South China Sea, although it does not mention the fact—confirmed by commercially available AIS data concerning ship movements—that China has sustained a presence of at least two PAFMM vessels around Sandy Cay since August 2017. As the Pentagon emphasizes, the ―PLAN, CCG, and PAFMM sometimes conduct coordinated patrols.‖ Inter-service cooperation applies in peace and war: ―In conflict, China may also employ China Coast Guard and People‟s Armed Forces Maritime Militia ships to support military operations.‖ ―In the South China Sea,‖ the report emphasizes, ―the PAFMM plays a major role in coercive activities to achieve China‟s political goals without fighting, part of broader PRC military doctrine stating confrontational operations short of war can be an effective means of accomplishing political objectives.‖ Other CMSI-documented examples of international incidents involving the PAFMM there that the report does not mention explicitly include direct participation in China’s 1974 seizure of the Western Paracel Islands from Vietnam; involvement in the occupation and development of Mischief Reef resulting in a 1995 incident with the Philippines; harassment of various Vietnamese government/survey vessels, including the Bin Minh and Viking; participation in the 2014 blockade of Second Thomas Shoal; and engagement in the 2015 maneuvers around USS Lassen. In conclusion, the Pentagon deserves great credit for employing the full force of its tremendous analytical capabilities and official authority to shine a bright, inescapable spotlight on the PAFMM’s true nature and activities. There is no plausible deniability: the PAFMM is a state-organized, -developed, and -controlled force operating under a direct military chain of command to conduct PRC state-sponsored activities. Publicly revealing the PAFMM’s true nature and activities is an important step in deterring its future use. But far more is needed to counter the pernicious challenge of Beijing’s shadowy but fully knowable third sea force. As the Pentagon’s valuable new report emphasizes, ―China continues to exercise low-intensity coercion to advance its claims in the East and South China Seas.‖ Dr. Andrew S. Erickson is a professor of strategy in the U.S. Naval War College (NWC)‟s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) and an Associate in Research at Harvard University‟s John King Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. Since 2014, he and his colleague Conor M. Kennedy have been conducting and publishing in-depth research on the People‟s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) and briefing key U.S. and allied decision-makers on the subject. In 2017 Erickson received NWC‟s inaugural Civilian Faculty Research Excellence Award, in part for his pioneering contributions in this area. Source: https://nationalinterest.org

PLAN's 50th Type 056 Corvette 'Wuzhou' Launched by Shipyard in Southern China Naval Technology Posted On Monday, 20 August 2018 11:42 What is likely the fiftieth Type 056 Corvette (Jiangdao class) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) was launched in early August. The vessel to be named Wuzhou (梧州) with hull number 626 was built and launched by the Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard of the Chinese naval group CSSC.

The 50th Type 056 Corvette for the PLAN. It is the 15th of the class launched by the shipyard, located in Guangzhou in Southern China. Picture: 旅洋lll

Once again, the pace of China's naval shipbuilding industry is impressive: In just six years, 50 modern Type 056 surface combattants (and counting) have been launched. That's a little over 8 vessels launched per year on average! Our colleagues from East Pendulum explain that the Type 056 is clearly the backbone of the PLAN. 42, then gradually increased to 64, this is the number of Type 056 corvettes ordered by the Chinese Navy so far. The lead ship of the class was launched on May 23, 2012 - The latests to date, 'Wuzhou' is the 15th building built by Huangpu shipyard located in Guangzhou in Southern China. Yet another Type 056 might have already followed: The 10th hull might have been launched by by Wuchang shipyard in Wuhan in Central China. The problem is official communications are scarce these days making it very difficult to keep track of the Type 056 programme. Assuming that the Chinese shipyards keep the same pace to build and fit out future Type 056, their construction should end in a year or a year and a half, ie towards the end of 2019. With a unit price of around 100 million dollars, the Type 056 program is one of many examples illustrating the desire and ambition of the China to become a hybrid power, both continental and oceanic. According to a Chinese MOD statement, Type 056 Corvettes are new-generation light guided missile frigates independently developed by China. It has a length of 89 meters, a beam of 11 meters and a full-load displacement of 1,500 tons. The warship, independently developed, designed and constructed by China, is equipped with a variety of weapons and equipment, and is featured by good stealth performance, strong compatibility, and a wide range of applications of advanced technologies. After commissioned to the PLAN, the warship will perform such missions as patrolling, alert, fishery protection, escort, antisubmarine operation and anti-surface operation. The Type 056A ASW variant features a towed array, dedicated ASW console and might be fitted with a new ASROC type system. Export variant have been selected by the navies of Bangladesh (four units) and Nigeria (two units). Class # in class Hull # Name Type Displacement (tons) Launch date Type 071 6 LPD 25,000 2018/01/20 Type 815A 8 SIGINT 6,000 2018/02/03 unknown (tug) 4 Tug 6,000 2018/02 Type 056A 45 Bazhong ASW Corvette 1,340 2018/03/02 Type 056A 46 ASW Corvette 1,340 2018/03/17 Type 927 2 Acoustic Surveillance 5,000 2018/03 Type 927 3 Acoustic Surveillance 5,000 2018/04 Type 056A 47 ASW Corvette 1,340 2018/04/25 Type 056A 48 ASW Corvette 1,340 2018/04/29 Type 055 2 Destroyer 12,000 2018/04/29 Type 910 4 Test ship 6,000 (TBC) 2018/04/30 Type 056A 49 ASW Corvette 1,340 2018/05/16 Type 056A 50 (TBC) ASW Corvette 1,340 2018/05/16 Type 054A 30 542 Frigate 4,000 2018/06/30 Type 055 3 Destroyer 12,000 2018/07/03 Type 055 4 Destroyer 12,000 2018/07/03 Type 052D 14 Destroyer 6,000+ 2018/07/07 Type 056A 51 (TBC) 626 Wuzhou ASW Corvette 1,340 2018/08 with information from East Pendulum PLAN launches so far this year Since January 1, 2018, the Chinese naval industry has already launched no less than 19 new surface ships for the Chinese navy, 3 more than last year while there are still 4 months to go before year end. But looking at tonnage, the 19 ships launched this year represent only about 57% in terms of the displacement of the 16 vessels launched in 2017. This is explained by the fact that an , a large tanker (more than 40,000 tons) and a 20,000 tons LPD were launched in 2017. This year, apart from the 3 Type 055 (12,000 tons each), only smaller size vessels were launched: 8 Type 056 corvettes.Source: https://www.navyrecognition.com

Australian and French officials at loggerheads over submarine contract Aug 20 2018 at 11:00 PM Updated Aug 20 2018 at 11:00 PM by Andrew Tillett Australian and French officials are at loggerheads over a raft of issues in contractual negotiations to build the new $50 billion submarine fleet, putting the project in danger of missing an unofficial September deadline. Among the issues understood to have emerged between the Australian government and the submarines' designer and builder, French-owned Naval Group, are a dispute over warranty periods, cannibalisation of the existing Collins-class submarine workforce and the implications of any sale or merger of Naval Group. The tensions threaten to derail plans to finalise the Strategic Partnering Agreement, which is the overall contract to guide the construction of the 12 future submarines over the next several decades. While nothing had been set, the government and Naval Group had been working towards finalising the SPA next month. Industry sources indicated an agreement might not be done until the end of the year or early 2019. One government source characterised them as tough but the navy's head of the submarine program, Rear Admiral Greg Sammut, had been forceful in making sure taxpayers were not disadvantaged.

Negotiations between Australian and French officials over the head contract for the delivery of the navy's new submarine are deadlocked, industry sources say. supplied

Another government source said that, as with all negotiations, the submarine talks were taking time, were complicated and involved give and take. The Australian Financial Review has been told one of the biggest sticking points has been the possibility that the ownership structure of Naval Group, which is majority owned by the French government, could change. Naval Group's sovereign ownership has allowed the submarine deal to be effectively treated as a government-to-government relationship but Canberra is worried this high-level cooperation would be under threat if Naval Group falls out of the French state's hands. There has been speculation of a tie-up between Naval Group and shipbuilder Fincantieri, which is majority owned by the Italian government. There has also been tension between the parties over the length of warranties to cover defects and faults. One source said Defence wants warranties to last as long as possible but Naval Group, unsurprisingly, wants to rein this back. There have also been Australian concerns Naval Group will poach workers from ASC, potentially jeopardising maintenance of the Collins-class submarines which are needed to stay in service for several more decades until the new fleet is ready. Naval Group and Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne did not comment on the deadlock, only to confirm that negotiations were continuing. Mr Pyne said the next session was scheduled for early September. "Negotiation of the Strategic Partnering Agreement is continuing, to ensure that Defence implements an equitable and enduring agreement to deliver the Future Submarine capability over the next 30 years," he said. "The Design and Mobilisation Contract will continue until the scope of contracted work is completed to Commonwealth requirements." Lack of competition Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick, a former submariner, said the contract difficulties stemmed from removing competitive tension from the submarine project by selecting just the French bid to do detailed design work instead of including a rival from Germany or Japan, which were also considered. "Nonetheless, we are where we are and I throw my complete support behind Rear Admiral Sammut in making sure the government holds firm on getting the right terms and conditions in the Strategic Partnering Agreement, even if that means the program all but stops in the short term," he said. "The cost of delaying the project at this stage will be small compared to proceeding with an overarching agreement that will cause difficulty later on down the track." Senator Patrick said the government should reconsider the submarine project and look at off-the-shelf designs in light of Chinese and Russian efforts to deploy their ships into the South Pacific and Indian oceans and court Australia's neighbours. "We are currently purchasing a unique and risky submarine option that, at best, will make it into service in the mid-30s," he said. "Perhaps we need to scale back our ambition with something much closer to proven and off-the-shelf, built here in Australia by ASC, with an earlier construction start date and an earlier entry into active service date." Source: https://www.afr.com

Revealed: The nuclear-powered 'mole' the Soviets built to burrow beneath America and deliver atomic bombs UNDERGROUND  Subterranean machine had a titanium body with a pointed nose and stern  It used a drill heated to extreme temperatures to power through solid ground  Russian forces hoped to use it to attack and destroy key US military facilities  The project was abandoned in 1964 after a test failure saw a vehicle explode By Harry Pettit For Mailonline Published: 15:19 BST, 20 August 2018 | Updated: 20:21 BST, 20 August 2018 The Soviets once built a nuclear-powered land submarine to attack the United States during the Cold War, a new report has revealed. Code-named the Battle Mole, the subterranean machine had a titanium body with a pointed nose and stern, and used a drill heated to extreme temperatures to power through solid ground by melting the material in front of it. A new investigation into the vehicle reports Russian forces hoped to use it to attack and destroy key US military facilities, including underground missile silos, and may have allowed for the subsurface delivery of nuclear bombs. But while a prototype showed promise, a catastrophic nuclear reactor failure caused it to explode during a test dig, forcing officials to abandon the project in the 1960s. Details on the Battle Mole are scarce, and Russian officials have never discussed the rumours surrounding its development. A new report from Jalopnik suggests Soviet designs for a land submarine, also known as a subterrene, first surfaced prior to the Second World War. Subterrenes, largely confined to the realm of science fiction, are similar to modern tunnel-boring machines, but also carry passengers and cargo underground.

Soviet inventor Alexander Trebelev developed a subterrene prototype (pictured) in the 1930s based off of X-ray images taken of a mole's skeleton. It is not clear how large the machine was or whether it was crewed or controlled remotely

According to the report, Soviet inventor Alexander Trebelev developed a prototype vehicle in the 1930s based off of X- ray images taken of a mole's skeleton. The vehicle used a drill-bit to move through the Earth and was designed to navigate beneath the planet's crust like a submarine cuts through water. It is not clear how large the machine was or whether it was crewed or controlled remotely - an artist impression of the craft published in a 1956 edition of New Scientist suggests the full-sized version would have housed a crew of two. According to the article, four propellers at the back of the vehicle performed the same function as a mole's hind legs, pushing dirt away from the machine. What is a subterrene? A subterrene is a vehicle that travels underground like a submarine cuts through water.Largely confined to the realm of the science fiction, the vehicles move through rock and soil using a drill or by melting material in front of them. The United States, Germany and the Soviet Union all began designing subterrenes in the 1920s and '30s, but many abandoned the projects after the machines were deemed impractical. Today's tunnel-boring machines, used to dig shafts for metro tunnels or electrical cabling, are not considered subterrenes. This is because they are only designed to dig tunnels and not carry passengers or cargo. The digging was carried out by a rotating boring head edged with hard alloy cutters, and according to New Scientist, small and large versions were produced. Soviet engineers quickly realised extreme heat was needed to efficiently push through rock and other solid materials. These temperatures could not be reached using technology of the time, forcing officials to shelve the project until the rise of nuclear power in the 1950s. By 1964, the Soviets had built their 'Battle Mole' - powered by a small reactor similar to those found in nuclear submarines, Jalopnik reports.

A new investigation into the vehicle reports Russian forces hoped to use it to attack and destroy key US military facilities, including underground missile silos, and may have allowed for the subsurface delivery of nuclear bombs (artist's impression)

If true, this would make it the solid-Earth boring military vehicle ever created. It remains unclear what purpose the vehicles were designed for, but State-owned website Russia Beyond claims then-President Nikita Khruschev wanted the Battle Mole built as a way to attack and destroy American underground military facilities. These included missile silos and key communications infrastructure. Allegedly, the machine was 75 feet (23 metres) long and boasted a diameter of 12 feet (3.6 metres), with the capacity to hold a crew of five. It used its reactor to melt material in front of it and could travel through solid rock at speeds of around four to eight miles per hour (6.5-13 kph). According reports, test runs of the Battle Mole were carried out in different conditions, from suburban Moscow soil to rock in the Ural Mountains. The project was cancelled in 1964 when one of the machines exploded during a test run through the Urals, killing all five on board, according to Russian news site RG.ru. While evidence exists of plans for a Soviet subterrene project, experts have repeatedly challenged the notion that a 'Battle Mole' was ever built. There is no record of the machine in Russian government files, and no pictures that show a full-scale machine are known of. Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk Royal Navy scrambled to head off Russian frigate sailing through English Channel THE Royal Navy has sprung into action to escort a Russian Navy frigate passing through the English Channel en route to the Black Sea. By Joshua Nevett / Published 21st August 2018 Cruise-missile equipped frigate Admiral Makarov is heading for Sevastopol, her home port in the Black Sea, after departing from a naval base in the Baltic Sea, Russian media has reported. HMS Hurworth, a Hunt-class minesweeper vessel, and a Wildcat helicopter are thought to have been deployed by the Royal Navy to shadow the Russian ship as it sails past Britain. A spokesman for the Royal Navy tonight confirmed an interception has taken place but said further comment could not be given because the operation is ―ongoing‖. Full details of the mission will be released when the operation has been completed, the spokesman told Daily Star Online. Fitted with an array of missiles and artillery weapons, Admiral Makarov, commissioned in December 2017, is designed to resist surface ships and submarines and repel air raids. The operation comes just 24 hours after the UK’s biggest ever warship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, embarked on its first deployment to the United States.

INTERCEPTION: A Russian Navy frigate has been escorted through the English Channel

Captain Jerry Kyd, the carrier’s commanding officer, said testing the carrier in partnership with the US was necessary in the face of ―eye-watering threats‖ from Russia. He said: "The increase in Russian activity we have seen in the last couple of years is frightening and for national security reasons it just underlines why we need to maintain a balanced, strong and able, capable fleet. "It's been quite eye-watering what we have seen in the last couple of years." UK defence secretary Gavin Williamson said the joint drills involving the carrier and two US-made F-35B fighter jets, would "strengthen our special relationship" with the US military. Williamson, who has headed the MoD since November 2017, has taken a hawkish stance towards Russia, routinely talking up the ―increased threat‖ posed by its military. He has previously said the threat Britain faces has considerably ―escalated‖ in the last three years as he attempts to secure more military funding from the treasury. Russian warships regularly sail past Britain through the English Channel without incident. The Royal Navy was last deployed to shadow Russian ships earlier this month, when missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov and anti- submarine destroyer Severomorsk passed Britain. Destroyer HMS Diamond, one of the most advanced ships in the Royal Navy, was sent to keep an close eye on the vessels as they sailed through the strait. Vladimir Putin's ships were passing through the English Channel to begin operations following Russia's navy parade in Saint Petersburg. Tensions between London and Moscow remain high in the wake of the attempted assassination of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March. Source: https://www.dailystar.co.uk

A work of art – Dar Mlodziezy in Table Bay last week. Photo supplied by Keith Wetmore (in the words of Angel Söderlund).