This article reinforces one of the comments Joe Mendiola made yesterday that, "the longer any NE Asia conflict lasts, the more proficient/expert the "rusty" PLA will become". [Wired] The ongoing trials of China's first aircraft carrier and her ship-based jet fighters represent a major leap ahead in capability for the People's Liberation Army Navy. But the hype surrounding Lioaning's debut test cruise last summer and the inaugural landing of her J-15 fighters in late November masks an important truth, one the world's other carrier powers have long known.
Developing a flattop and its planes is hard, requiring years of trial and error and no small amount of risk. And while China's ascent as a naval power might seem unstoppable, the saga of China's first seagoing fighter pilots proves otherwise. A lot of things can, have and will go wrong, casting into doubt whether Beijing will possess a truly useful carrier capability any time soon.
There have been at least three close calls involving the small force of experimental J-15s since the Chinese navy established its initial carrier aviation task force in late 2006. The accidents and near-accidents are detailed in a remarkable story published this week on the Chinese website Sina -- remarkable because Sina gets its information directly from state-run media outlets, which rarely cop to mistakes on the part of the mighty Chinese military.
At great risk to its pilots over a period of years, China had proved it could perform the basic functions of an aircraft carrier. Performing those functions routinely, and safely -- to say nothing of doing them under the stresses of actual combat -- is another matter. If the recent past is any indication, China still has a ways to go before its nominal carrier capability becomes a meaningful one.