China´s alternative for Lockheed´s F-35 - Wendell Minnick

Wendell Minnick

 Many countries struggle with the replacement of their F-16´s, and have a hard time to pay for Lockheed´s F-35 or JSF. China´s showed its J-31 fighter, meant to offer a cheaper equivalent, writes defense analyst Wendell Minnick in Defense News.

Wendell Minnick:

The J-31 export revelation occurred in the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) Exhibition Hall after personnel unwrapped its 1:2 model of the aircraft Nov. 10 during a preshow tour of this week’s Airshow China in Zhuhai. The placard for the model states: “FC-31 4th Generation Multi-Purpose Medium Fighter.” 

Chinese fighters are designated with a “J” for fighter and “FC” for export,” and this is the first time the J-31 has been referred to as the FC-31. 

Though overcast, a J-31 performed a demonstration flight during the preshow tour, as did the Russian Su-35 multirole fighter. China and Russia are expected to sign a deal for export of the Su-35 sometime later this month.

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Wendell Minnick is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´ request form.

Are you interested in more stories by Wendell Minnick? Do check out this regularly updated list.  

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China's UAV's can change power balance - Wendell Minnick

Wendell Minnick

China displayed for the first time its first unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), the Pterodactyl UAV, at the Paris Air Show last week. Defense analyst Wendell Minnick explains in Defense News how China's new toys can change the power balance by circumventing current embargoes and other regulations.

Wendell Minnick:

The model, also known as the Wing Loong, could be the first step by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) to break the West’s grip on the UAV market by providing affordable and reliable alternatives that also bypass US embargoes, sanctions and regulations. This is particularly the case for African and Middle Eastern countries to which the US is legally constrained from selling arms, or in the case of Israel, refuses to do so. 

A report issued by Kimberly Hsu, policy analyst for military and security affairs at the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, “China’s Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry,” warns China’s inexpensive and multifunctional unmanned aerial systems are poised to steal the international UAV market away from the US and Israel. 

Hsu’s report said that the US and Israel are “the top two UAV exporters worldwide and the only two countries confirmed to have exported strategic-level UAVs, are members of the two principal multilateral regimes that address UAV exports — the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Wassenaar Arrangement.” China is not a member of either and “in the absence of competition from more sophisticated US or Israeli alternatives, China could become a key proliferator to non-members of the MTCR or Wassenaar.”

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Wendell Minnick is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

China Weekly Hangout

The upcoming cyber war is the subject of the +China Weekly Hangout on Thursday 27 June. The revelations by Edward Snowden showed that the US is preparing a military shake-out, as both China, Russia and other countries are building up their cyber war capacities too. Joining us are former security consultant +Mathew Hoover and media en communication lecturer +Paul Fox of the Hong Kong University. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra, president of the China Speakers Bureau.

In many ways, the power balance is shifting in favor or China, although we do not always realize that. The China Weekly Hangout discussed on March 7 the advances different Chinese media groups make in Africa with veteran journalists +Eric Olander of the China Africa Project, and +Lara Farrar, previously working for both the China Daily and CNN. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra, president of the China Speakers Bureau. 

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China's military industrial revolution - Wendell Minnick

Wendell Minnick

Are you still planning to buy overpriced military JSF fighters and other equipment in the US? Perhaps you should have a look first in China, writes Military analyst Wendell Minnick, who attended  the Zhuhai ninth biennial Airshow China, in Defense News. 

Wendell Minnick:

No more evidence is needed after last week’s Zhuhai airshow — the biggest, best organized and friendliest to date. Much of this can be attributed to a growing sense of pride among the Chinese in their emerging role in the world’s geostrategic balance. 

One U.S. defense analyst, a longtime Zhuhai attendee, said there was a “boatload of new stuff, including a lot of new weapons we have never seen before. It is going to be like drinking from a fire hose.” 

Overall, the 2012 Zhuhai show has expanded on a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) weapons trend discernible since 2004: the increased funding of multiple redundant air and missile weapon systems to foster internal competition, faster development cycles and inundation of foreign weapon markets. The PLA may purchase this burgeoning selection of weapons, but it will likely offer most of them for sale. 

China is also attempting to take a leading role as mentor for other countries. France, Germany, Pakistan, Russia and Tanzania participated in the second Military Flight Training Conference (MFTC 2012), held here Nov. 11-12... 

Among the show’s biggest surprises were displays of new missiles and rockets. Most were modifications that transformed air-to-air missiles into surface-to-air or anti-radiation missiles. 

The 60-kilometer-range AVIC LD-10 air-to-surface, anti-radiation missile was one example. Based on the SD-10A advanced medium-range, air-to-air missile, the LD-10 can be outfitted on the JF-17, the brochure indicates. It is unclear why it specified the JF-17 only, but the plane is one of China’s top exportable fighters. 

The SD-10A surface-to-air missile does not look anything like the SD-10A or the LD-10. In fact, it looks more like the Raytheon-built Standard Missile.

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Wendell Minnick is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

This week, on November 22, the China Weekly Hangout is about the future of nuclear power in China. You can register at our event page here. (Two weeks earlier we missed the change in daylight saving time in the US and had to cancel.) First part will focus on the resumption of building nuclear power stations, the second part of the chances NIMBY protests can derail this ambitious program. Planned participants: Richard Brubaker and Chris Brown.
You can access all editions here.

Last month, the China Weekly Hangout had a session on China's ability to innovate with Janet Carmosky, Greg Anderson and Fons Tuinstra

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China's weapon industry advances internationally - Wendell Minnick

Wendell Minnick

New international deals for the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) were some of the surprises military expert Wendell Minnick discovered at the Zhuhai ninth biennial China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, he writes in Defense News.

Wendell Minnick:

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) revealed plans to fill the first international order for 12 Hongdu-built supersonic L-15 “Hunting Eagle” advanced jet trainers. 

AVIC did not reveal the identity of the country, but potential customers include Pakistan, Africa and Latin America. 

AVIC’s Hongdu Aviation Industry Group and China Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp. signed an agreement during a ceremony on Nov. 13 to begin building the L-15. . 

AVIC also announced plans to replace the L-15’s two Ukrainian-built Ivchenko Progress AI-222K-25F engines that power the prototypes with the “Minshan,” a new, indigenous-built twin-spool turbofan engine. AVIC officials claim the engine is an “all-Chinese” engine, but a defense industry source indicates it is based on the Czech DV-2 engine built originally for the L-59 trainer during the Cold War. The L-59 never entered production, but the DV-2 blueprints were obtained by China. 

AVIC also revealed plans to develop the L-15 into a target drone. The “Blue Fox” will serve as a high-performance target for air combat weapon tests, ground-to-air defense training.

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Wendell Minnick is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

The China Weekly Hangout will focus next Thursday on the global ambitions of China's internet companies. For our announcement, please go here, or you can register directly at our event page. You can see all previous editions on our YouTube channel. 

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