Combat ready: Chinese air force puts new Y-9
transport planes through paces in South China Sea drill
Air force exercise tests pilots, equipment and
integration of military commands
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 02 December, 2017, 10:01pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 02 December, 2017, 11:18pm
China’s home-grown Y-9 transport aircraft appears to be
combat ready after completing its first long-distance exercise over the South
China Sea.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force announced on its
social media account on Saturday that a fleet of the aircraft from the Western
Theatre Command flew thousands of kilometres to simulate an airdrop over an
island in the contested waters before returning the same day.
The exercise was conducted in mock combat conditions and
without weather data or guidance from a command centre, the statement said.
Military observers said the exercise was an attempt to
show the PLA’s ability to fend off attacks from the sea and to mobilise
different theatre commands in a crisis.
The Y-9 medium-lift transport aircraft can carry up to 25
tonnes of cargo and has a range of around 7,800km.
Liu Bao, one of the PLA officers who took part in the
drill, said the exercise was a complex task for the pilots and the equipment.
Retired PLA colonel Yue Gang said the long-distance drill
showed the Y-9 could do airdrops anywhere in the South China Sea.
“It shows the Y-9 is a good tactical transport aircraft
to deal with small incidents near these waters and can increase the Chinese
military’s flexibility,” he said.
Collin Koh, a research fellow on maritime security from
Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the deployment of aircraft
from the Western Theatre Command on the border with India to the Southern
Theatre Command which covers the South China Sea signalled the integration of different
PLA units.
“The PLA is gradually improving its ability to not just
employ the Southern Theatre Command to execute those missions but also to
demonstrate that in the event of an escalation of a crisis or prolonged
conflict, it’s possible for the PLA to tap forces from other theatres, even if
those theatres are not fully involved,” Koh said.
But Koh said it remained to be seen how much backup the
Western Theatre Command could really give over the South China Sea.
“In the event of a South China Sea crisis, it’s also not
inconceivable to think of a second front brewing along the disputed Sino-Indian
border areas, which would certainly tie up the Western Theatre Command and
limit its ability to support,” he said.
It was the second time in a week that state media
reported Chinese aircraft conducting drills in the South China Sea, where the
country has started building islands on a large scale.
China Central Television reported earlier this week that
several J-11B fighter jets took off from a military airport in southern China
and headed towards the deeper waters of the South China Sea for an air combat
drill.
The report also showed one J-11B entering a sealed hanger
on Woody Island, China’s main military base in the contested Paracels.
According to Washington-based think tank the Centre for Strategic and International
Studies, China has substantially stepped up land reclamation, deployed
surface-to-air missiles, and test-fired anti-ship cruise missiles on the island
in the past few years.
This article appeared in the South China
Morning Post print edition as: New cargo planes join South China Sea exercise
Original post: scmp.com
More images
Y-9 transport aircraft attached to the PLA
Air Force fly in formation above the clouds during the flight training starting
from a military airfield in western China to a designated training area at an
island near waters of the South China Sea in late November, 2017. This is the
first time for the Chinese homemade medium-sized transport aircraft to conduct
long-distance training exercise, marking the formation of combat effectiveness
of the PLA Air Force's Y-9 transport aircraft. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by
Liu Yinghua)
Y-9 transport aircraft attached to the PLA
Air Force fly in formation above the clouds during the flight training starting
from a military airfield in western China to a designated training area at an
island near waters of the South China Sea in late November, 2017. This is the
first time for the Chinese homemade medium-sized transport aircraft to conduct
long-distance training exercise, marking the formation of combat effectiveness
of the PLA Air Force's Y-9 transport aircraft. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by
Liu Yinghua)
Y-9 transport aircraft attached to the PLA
Air Force fly in formation above the clouds during the flight training starting
from a military airfield in western China to a designated training area at an
island near waters of the South China Sea in late November, 2017. This is the
first time for the Chinese homemade medium-sized transport aircraft to conduct
long-distance training exercise, marking the formation of combat effectiveness
of the PLA Air Force's Y-9 transport aircraft. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by
Liu Yinghua)
Shaanxi Y-9
The Shaanxi Y-9 (Chinese: 运-9; pinyin: Yùn-9) aircraft is a
medium-sized, medium-range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi
Aircraft Company in China.
The aircraft was developed as a stretched version of the Shaanxi Y-8F with
greater payload and range originating from the Soviet Antonov
An-12. The Y-9 is considered China's effort to build a C-130J class transport
aircraft.[1]
Source: wikiwand.com
Source: globalsecurity.org
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