Atlantic Sentinel

Author: Christopher Whyte

  • What Role for China’s Second Stealth Fighter?

    In June, a video appeared on YouTube that showed Chinese military equipment being transported down a major highway. Upon close examination, it became obvious to many in the blogosphere that the tarpaulin covered vehicle was a jet fighter, one that matched descriptions and previously seen renders of the fifth-generation J-21 “Snowy Owl” stealth fighter.

    The Air Force of the People’s Republic of China is known to be encouraging the development of fifth-generation stealth capable aircraft, having last January publicly engaged in initial flight testing for the Chengdu J-20 “Black Eagle,” a twin engine plane with conformal weapons storage and a stealthy shape reminiscent of the American F-22 Raptor.

    Indeed, despite the general knowledge that two companies have been competing to design China’s first stealth fighter, repeat sighting of the J-20 and reports that a second prototype has entered full testing led many commentators to conclude, until now, that the Chinese army’s choice was made. (more…)

  • Stretching Navy Budgets Too Far?

    In an era where austerity measures and budget stretching has seen the United States Navy send vessels on prolonged and increasingly wearing deployments, it is reported that one major ship seems to have been left behind. Navy spokesmen this week responded to queries about the status of the USS Wasp, a 41,000 ton big deck amphibious assault ship that hasn’t been deployed for a major cruise in almost eight years, amid concerns about the operational condition of the vessel’s combat system.

    The ship, which is currently being used as a testbed for the technologies and operations systems to be deployed fleetwide with the rollout of the vertical takeoff and landing version of the Joint Strike Fighter, has not been used to carry a Marine Expeditionary Unit as part of an Amphibious Ready Group since 2004. All other big deck amphibious ships in the Navy have acted in that role several times throughout the same period, with the deployment schedule of most topping eight months for each cruise. In contrast, the Wasp‘s cruises have not lasted for more than four months in years. (more…)

  • Budgetary Gamble of the America Class Warship

    This week, the United States launched the first of a new breed of assault ship, the America class, from drydock at the Ingalls shipbuilding facility near Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ship is designed primarily to support the Marine Corps and could represent the start of a significant redistribution of power projection focus within America’s armed forces in the near to medium term.

    The United States are forging ambitiously ahead with plans to develop their amphibious assets. The launch of the mammoth USS America follows last week’s announcement of a $2.4 billion contract between the government and Ingalls for the construction of the USS Tripoli, the second ship in the America class.

    As amphibious assets, the two 45,000 ton ships will provide air support, command coordination and shallow water backing for Marine operations abroad.

    These vessels differ from previous amphibious assault ships in one critical way — they are geared toward aviation. (more…)

  • A Temporary Reprieve for the Philippines

    China and the Philippines agreed this week to exercise restraint in all statements and for all actions regarding their ongoing bilateral dispute in the South China Sea. As the result of an incident in which Chinese surveillance vessels interceded to prevent the arrest of fishermen by a Philippine navy ship, both countries have had naval assets stationed near an island chain for some weeks and have actively engaged in a war of words centered around one question — who owns the Scarborough Shoal?

    While Beijing continues to claim that the territory, deep inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, is inalienably Chinese, it is clear that both sides are wary of escalating tensions any further.

    The announcement, made Tuesday by the Philippine defense minister following talks with his Chinese counterpart, plainly aims to mitigate the possibility of sudden escalations over contested seabed territories and pave the way for a successful diplomatic outcome. (more…)

  • A Precedent-Setting Sale in the Taiwan Straits

    The House of Representatives in the United States ordered the sale of more advanced F-16 multirole fighters to Taiwan this month. The move, a big step forward for Taiwan in preparing for the future, may be precedent setting in more ways than one and could inspire new thinking in both Beijing and Taipei.

    While the sale of warplanes to Taiwan is yet to be approved by the Senate and the president, congressional success in the lower house represents a breakthrough for those Republican leaders in Washington who have long favored greater military and financial support for the island based Republic of China. (more…)