| by B.Raman
( December 11,
2012, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The PLA Daily carried the following report
on December 7,2012:
 |
|
“The
Air Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently conducted a
comprehensive support drill for multi-types of aircraft on double-runway under
information conditions at an airport in southwest China. Nearly 100 fighters of
over 10 different types open the curtain of the base-oriented transformation of
the combat support mode of the PLA Air Force.
“According
to Zhan Houshun, chief commanding officer of the drill and deputy commander of
the air force under the Chengdu Military Area Command (MAC) of the PLA, there
was only one runway for taking-off and landing at the airports of the PLA Air
Force in the past, which could only support relatively a few types of aircraft
to simultaneously implement the combat and training missions. But the airports
with two runways for aircraft to take off and land at the same time can not
only simultaneously support the flight of various types of active fighters, but
also be used for the taking-off and landing of all types of domestic civil
airplanes, Zhan Houshun added.
“The
reporters saw on the drill site that the aircraft took off and landed on the
double-runway for 12 sorties within 10 minutes. At the same time, more than 200
support vehicles of various types and hundreds of officers and men were making
preparation before aircraft’s taking-off and carrying out maintenance after
aircraft’s landing for various types of aircraft on the parking aprons on the
east and west sides of the airport.
“After
the drill, Zhang Jian, commanding officers of the main control tower of the
east runway of the airport, said that “The aircraft throughput per hour for the
first drill was one third more than that at the airport in the past, and the
peak throughput was even doubled, exceeding the aircraft throughput per hour at
the civil airport with the same size, which was beyond the imagination of an
old pilot with more than 20 years of flying experience like me.”
“Zhang
Feiran, director of the Military Material and Fuel Supply Section of the
Logistics Department of the air force under the Chengdu MAC, said the fuel
consumption in the 5-odd-hour-long drill was four times the daily consumption
of the airport in the past. To meet fuel demands, a fuel supply center and a
set of straight-line pressure-refueling system were installed on each runway.
“According
to Zhang Hong, chief of an air station who participated in the drill, support
for double-runway doubled their workload while the number of supporting
personnel and equipment did not change, which obliged them to improve the
supporting process, optimize the supporting methods and enhance the supporting
personnel’s capability of “one-post with multi skills”.
“According
to Fang Dianrong, commander of the air force under the Chengdu MAC, the goal of
the drill is to explore the new mode for base construction, operation and
management of multi-type-aircraft comprehensive support.”
The “People’s
Daily” of the Communist Party of China
further reported as follows on December 10,2012:
“
Takeoff and landing drills were recently held at an airport in southwest China.
About 100 fighter jets of 10-plus types participated in the drill.
“'Dual-runway'
means that an airport has two runways used for aircraft takeoff and landing,
which is the first time in the history of air force airports," said Zhan
Houshun, commander in chief and assistant commander of the air force in Chengdu
Military Region. In the past, the air force airports had only one runway to
guarantee the simultaneous combats and training tasks of a few types of fighter
jets. Now, the dual-runway airport can not only guarantee the flight of fighter
jets in service but also meet the requirements of takeoff and landing of
domestic civil aircraft of all models.
“
On the scene of exercises, 12 aircraft conducted takeoff and landing in turn on
the dual-runway airport in just 10 minutes. On the tarmacs of eastern and
western sides of the airport, more than 200 vehicles and hundreds of officers
and soldiers have prepared for the takeoff and landing of various types of
aircraft. The drill site looked rigorous and orderly.
“
Zhang Feiran, director of the oil supply office under the Chengdu Military
Region's naval logistics department, said that the launch of "dual
runways" is a new test of the logistics department's capability. The drill
lasted more than five hours, but used four times as much oil as the airport did
in one day. The office built two oil supply centers and a straight pressure
refueling system for the two runways, and conducted information
technology-based real-time monitoring throughout the drill, in order to ensure
rapid and accurate refueling operations.
“
The launch of 'dual runways' forces us to change logistic concepts and improve
logistic services," said Zhang Hong, head of an air force station who
participated in the drill. Dual runways require double workload, but the number
of logistics staff and facilities has not increased two-fold. Therefore, air
force stations must streamline logistic procedures, improve their services, and
enhance the abilities of their staff.
“
Fang Dianrong, commander of the Chengdu Military Region's naval force, said
that the purpose of the drill was to explore new ways of building, operating,
and managing comprehensive logistic bases for multiple types of aircraft, find
the weak links in capacity-building, and increase the military's ability to win
local wars using information technology.”
The PLA Daily
and the People’s Daily did not identify the airbase in which the exercise was
held. The same day, the Associated Press of the US disseminated the following
report:
“China’s
air force has staged one of its largest-ever drills amid heightened tensions
with Japan and Beijing’s southern neighbors over territorial claims, state
media reported Friday.
“
The air combat exercises involving more than 100 pilots were held over 11 days
last month in the vast northwestern region of Xinjiang, according to the
website of the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily and other official news
outlets.
“
Pilots practiced engaging in dog fights and countering electro-magnetic
interference, the reports said.
“
Aircraft taking part came from 14 separate units and included China’s most
modern jet fighters, the J-10 and J-11, along with older models and two-seater
Sukhoi Su-30s purchased from Russia, the reports said.
“
The exercises are a vivid demonstration of China’s vastly improved military
capabilities that have unnerved other Asian nations and spurred a renewed U.S.
focus on the region. The Global Times newspaper published by People’s Daily
called them the largest in recent years in both firepower and numbers of
aircraft, and said they also involved large numbers of technicians and experts
on missiles, radar and other related technologies.”
Surprisingly,
the details disseminated by the AP have not so far figured in the reports of
the PLA Daily, which indicate merely a one-day exercise in an airbase under the
Chengdu Military Region, to test the logistic capability of a new type of
dual-use (civilian and military), double-runway airbase. The Chengdu Military
Region is responsible for operations in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)
bordering on India’s Arunachal Pradesh. This appears to have been of a purely
tactical and not strategic significance.
The AP report
talks of a more complex 11-day exercise in the Xinjiang area bordering India’s
Aksai Chin now under Chinese occupation with logistic as well as operational
objectives. The area of the exercise comes under the Lanzhou Military Region,
which is responsible for operations in and across Xinjiang. This area borders
India’s Ladakh and Pak-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan.
If the details
disseminated by the AP are correct, this was a strategic air power
demonstration exercise. The exact dates of the exercise are not clear, but it
appears to have been held around the time our Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh
was due to go to Japan. His visit was postponed due to new elections being
called in Japan. The exercise also coincided with the growing tension between
Japan and China on the Senkaku Islands in the East Chine Sea.
While there has
been increasing co-operation between the Navies of India and Japan, one has not
been seeing similar co-operation between the two Air Forces. Was the exercise
meant to deter such co-operation?
( The writer is
Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. Of India, New Delhi, and
presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of
the Chennai Centre for China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com . Twitter
@SORBONNE75
 The PLA Daily carried the following report on December 7,2012: ...){kind=link}