China's New Type 004 Super Carrier

China is building a new super carrier, this time with nuclear power. I strongly suspect these carriers are built for global power projection during peacetime rather than for war with America. Still, capabilities evolve slowly. Intent can change overnight.

China is building a new carrier design:

A new Chinese aircraft carrier, commonly referred to as the Type 004, is continuing to take shape, notably now featuring a more complete bow. This is set to be China’s fourth carrier, and there is strong evidence it will be its first nuclear-powered type, bringing an even more significant boost to the country’s naval power projection capabilities.

The ship will likely have an air wing with expanded capabilities that the Chinese are working on.

Given the string of American and allies anti-access/area denial weapons being deployed along the First Island Chain, China's surface ships will be under threat when in home port and trying to sail into battle.

So I have to ask if China's investment in carriers is for prestige and peacetime missions to defend its global economic interests:

Years ago I said I almost felt sorry for China pursuing aircraft carriers given carrier vulnerability. I thought their first weak carriers would serve best as a distraction for the U.S. Navy as the PLA conquered Taiwan.

Since China has been accelerating its global trade network, I've wondered if China's aircraft carriers were really meant for peacetime power projection rather than sea control in a contest with the United States and its allies.

Heck, the fleet might be an expensive bauble to bolster the image of the Chinese Communist Party's power.

I still wonder about all of that.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.

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NOTE: Photo from the article. 

Drones Can Be Used For Tasks Other Systems Once Did

I'm not saying new ways of doing things isn't important. But it does mean drones aren't doing unprecedented things. 

Interesting use of UAVs:

Drones have come to define the Russia-Ukraine battlefield, with both sides fielding diverse and increasingly advanced systems. However, the true advantage in this domain does not come from technology alone, but from developing new employment methods that provide a tactical edge to their respective warfighters. Recent Ukrainian reports indicate that Russian forces have adopted a new drone tactic to help control roads leading into contested urban areas. The tactic involves landing drones near key routes to monitor the acoustic signatures of passing vehicles. When a potential military vehicle is detected, the operator can use the drone itself to strike the vehicle or engage it with artillery or another strike drone. 

Drones basically do old missions with new means.

Which means the drones can be stopped, notwithstanding their newness, with updated countermeasures.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.

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NOTE: Image from the article. 

China's Grip On Western Hemisphere Transportation

The campaign to reduce Chinese influence in the Western Hemisphere will need to be waged a long time.

China fights back against losing control: 

Panama is one battle in a much larger contest over who will shape the Western Hemisphere. For more than two decades, China expanded its reach by financing, building, and operating ports, railways, electrical grids, telecommunications systems, logistics hubs, and energy projects across Latin America. Those investments created influence that extends well beyond commerce.

But Washington has begun pushing back. The dispute in Panama offers an early look at how difficult it may be to reverse two decades of Chinese infrastructure expansion.

It would have been better to have started pushing back decades ago. Worse to have delayed decades more.  

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.

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NOTE: Photo from the article.

The Winter War of 2022 Reflects That But For the Grace of God Go I

 

Russia’s insistence that it must restore the Soviet empire that it lost in 1991 even as Russia’s ground forces bleed out trying to “return” Ukraine to Mother Russia’s loving embrace isn’t exactly a recruiting ad for the empire. Other former republics of the Soviet Union know that Russia has territorial ambitions yet lacks the power to enforce that. Other ex-Soviet states may decide they need to act during this gap between ambitions and power before the gap closes on them.

Head on over to Substack for the essay. I decided to publish this series there. But you can always get the link here on TDR.

NOTE: ISW updates continue here.

NOTE: Also, I put war-related links and commentary in the Weekend Data Dump on Substack. You may read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved.

Weekend Data Dump

The Weekend Data Dump is a compilation of short entries about the previous week’s defense and national security news that I found interesting. I couldn’t possibly comment on everything in my news flow or delve into everything that interests me. So most news that interests me doesn’t make the cut for a post. The rest go in the data dump. Enjoy!

HOP ON OVER AND READ IT! On the bright side, you can comment on Substack!

In case you missed it on Substack: Highway to Hell For Somebody

In case you missed it on Substack: "Agile" Isn't the Panacea the Army Thinks It Is

In case you missed it on Substack: AI-Driven Drones Will Face AI-Aimed Anti-Aircraft Guns

In case you missed it on Substack: Japan's Defense Role

Help me out by subscribing on Substack and by liking and sharing posts. I occasionally post short data dump-type items (or not-so-short) on my Substack "Notes" section. 

Taiwan's Frankenstein Tanks

Yes, yes, that would be Frankenstein's Monster Tanks. But this isn't a literature blog. So Taiwan has Frankenstein tanks. 

Taiwan’s Brave Tiger tanks are made from M-60 hulls, M-48-derived turrets, and M-1 fire controls:

Taiwanese forces had these aging armored vehicles sitting in fortified tank bunkers, covered in camouflage netting against a backdrop of trees. The Brave Tiger's main gun, with a direct-fire range of about 1.25 miles, can easily cover the span of the Tamsui, allowing it to ambush or ward off incoming Chinese landing craft or amphibious vessels.

They are used in bunkers to make up for lack of modern passive armor. 

Still, mobility is what makes a tank a tank and not just a bunker. I hope they can shift positions when needed.

And speaking of the Tamsui.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: Photo from the article. 

If Everyone Flies Drones, Who Does Infantry Stuff?

Marines in the Pacific are pushing drone operators down into fireteams. So much for every Marine a rifleman.

I'm just not happy with drones within a squad:

“Equipping our Marines with FPV attack drones give[s] us a useful tool that provides an additional kinetic option for us to use,” said 1st Lt. Evan Brace, a company executive officer with 3rd LAR, in the release. “This capability allows units down to the fireteam level to possess organic, precise fires capable of shaping their battlespace.”

I expressed my opinion when the Army was looking for where to put drones. In a weapons platoon at the company level seems like the lowest level small drones should be. Detach teams down to platoons or squads as needed. But establishing drones as an organic part of the tip of the close combat spear just risks making every "infantry" platoon a mini-air force shaping the battlefield rather than engaging in close combat to take and hold ground.  

A mini-air force the infantry has to carry on their backs. But get back to me when small drones are no bigger than a grenade on a soldier's webbing.

Of course, this news is from 3rd Marine Division, which converted much of itself to support to Marine Littoral Regiments. So perhaps that doesn't hurt their already limited ground combat capabilities.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: Photo from the article.

The Great and Powerful Xi!

Xi can click his heels and chant "There's no place like the China Dream" all day long. But reality is not bound by his decrees.

Problems become more apparent: 

No matter how much Xi Jinping promotes "positive energy" – his catchphrase for relentless optimism – the chickens of CCP economic policy have come home to roost.

America's GDP is significantly higher than China's and dramatically higher per capita. Honestly, I have doubts that we should use PPP to exaggerate China's GDP as a measure of broad global economic power. Yes, it is useful for things like comparing military expenditures where Western countries have higher personnel costs. But is PPP fully relevant on the global stage?

As China's rise slows, we should speak about China’s fate as if it is a continent and not a country.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: Yes, I know I am mixing characters from the movie.