The Navy Vol_73_No_4 Oct 2011 - Navy League of Australia

. – . . – . . – . . . – . . . – . – . . . – . . – . . . – . . . . . . . – . – . . – . . – . . . – . . . – . – .The citation praises the entire group for reacting“swiftly and professionally” when rescuingpeople in the water and onboard the burningvessel.04SHI-LANG TO FALL UNDERCENTRAL COMMANDChina’s refurbished Soviet-era aircraft carrier,the ex- VARYAG, which embarked on its firstsea trials on 10 August, will fall under directcommand of the Central Military Commission(CMC) and will be officially delivered to thePeople’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) on 1August 2012, Chinese media have reported.The 60,000-ton Kuznetsov-class carrier, whichconcluded up a four-day sea trial on 14 August,will officially enter service in the South ChinaSea on the anniversary of the founding of thePeople’s Republic of China.A report, carried in the official People’s Dailynewspaper stated that the ex- VARYAG wouldbe under the direct command of the CMCrather than the PLAN. The CMC ordinarilyonly assumes direct command of the armedservices in wartime, with the services ensuringcommand in peacetime. This chain of commandwould show the strategic value placed on theaircraft carrier; the only other forces under CMCcommand in peacetime are China’s strategicnuclear forces.The ex- VARYAG was a short take-off butarrested recovery (STOBAR) carrier originallyordered for the Soviet Navy but never completed.Construction work at the Chernomorksyshipyard in Nikolayev, Ukraine, stopped in 1992with the vessel just 70 per cent complete.In 1998 the hulk was sold to Chong Lot, apreviously unknown company based in Macau,ostensibly for conversion to a floating casino.The vessel was towed from Nikolayev in June2000 bound for China but its passage wasdelayed for 16 months as a result of wrangleswith Turkey over its transit through the Bosporusand Dardanelles straits. The ship eventuallyarrived in Dalian in March 2002.Major refurbishment work commenced in Dalianin 2005. Western analysts have long suspectedthat the ship was being completed for thePeople’s Liberation Army (Navy) - PLA(N) - asa STOBAR-configured aviation training platformfrom which to develop skills in carrier operations.This was confirmed by China’s defence ministryin July 2011, which said the ex- VARYAG will beused as a “scientific research, experiment andtraining vessel”.EIGHT NEW CUSTOMS BOATSAt a ceremony held on board Austal’s nextgeneration 102 metre trimaran on 12 August2011, Austal was awarded a contract for thedesign, construction and through-life support ofeight new patrol boats for the Australian Customsand Border Protection Service. This contract isAustal’s second contract with the AustralianCustoms and Border Protection Service, havingdesigned and constructed Customs’ currentfleet of eight Bay class vessels, which havebeen in operation for over 10 years.Austal will build the fleet of Cape class PatrolBoats at its shipyard in Henderson, WesternAustralia. Construction of the first vessel isexpected to commence in February 2012, withall eight due to be delivered between March2013 and August 2015.The 57.8m Cape class Patrol Boats have beendesigned to have greater range, enduranceand flexibility, as well as enhanced capability tooperate in more severe sea conditions than thecurrent Customs’ fleet.The In-Service Support contract extends for aminimum period of eight years and encompassesa full range of intermediate and depot levelmaintenance activities. Further options can beexercised by the Australian Customs and BorderProtection Service for In-Service Support for thelife of the Cape Class Patrol Boat Fleet.05JSOW C-1 MAKES FIRST LIVEDROPThe USN announced on 29 July that it hadsuccessfully completed the first free-flighttest of the C-1-variant of the AGM-154 JointStandoff Weapon (JSOW).The flight, which took place at the Point Mugusea range off California on 26 July, saw theweapon dropped from a Boeing F/A-18F SuperHornet.According to Naval Air Systems Command(NAVAIR), the purpose of the trial was to verifythe weapon’s characteristics. The drop was thefirst end-to-end functionality test of an inertJSOW C-1, from pre-flight to target impact.The successful conclusion of the trial saw theGPS/inertial navigation system (INS)-guidedglide-bomb strike an unmanned 260-ft longMobile Ship Target in the Pacific Ocean. Duringthe terminal phase of its attack, the weaponswitched from GPS/INS guidance to its infraredseeker.Equipped with the Link 16 datalink, the JSOWC-1 will be the first network-enabled weapon inthe US military’s inventory and the first weapon04China’s refurbished Soviet-era aircraft carrier SHI-LANG (ex- Soviet VARYAG) readyfor sea. The 60,000-ton Kuznetsov-class carrier, which was to be a floating casino,concluded a four-day sea trial on 14 August.05The first free-flight test of the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon C-1-variantof the (JSOW) dropped from a Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet against anunmanned 260-ft long Mobile Ship Target in the Pacific Ocean. (USN)THE NAVY VOL. 73 NO. 4 19