Tag: Military Aircraft

Balloon Incident Reveals More Than Spying as Competition With China Intensifies

Chin@Strategy

Of course, there is nothing new about superpowers spying on one another, even from balloons. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized surveillance of the Soviet Union by lofting cameras on balloons in the mid-1950s, flying them “over Soviet bloc countries under the guise of meteorological research,” according to an article published by the National Archives in 2009. It “yielded more protests from the Kremlin than it did useful intelligence,” the author, David Haight, an archivist at the Eisenhower Library, reported. With the advent of the first spy satellites, the balloons appeared…

U.S. Says Chinese Fighter Jet Flew Dangerously Close to American Plane

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The U.S. military said on Thursday that a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a U.S. Air Force aircraft that was conducting routine operations over the South China Sea on Dec. 21, nearly causing the planes to collide. The Chinese pilot of a J-11 jet “performed an unsafe maneuver,” flying in front and within 20 feet of the nose of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 plane, the U.S. military said in a statement, adding that the American pilot was forced to take “evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.” The…

With Record Military Incursions, China Warns Taiwan and the U.S.

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China sent a record number of military aircraft to menace self-ruled Taiwan in a large show of force to the Biden administration, signaling that Beijing wants to maintain pressure on Taiwan even as some tensions between the superpowers are easing. The swarm of Chinese fighter jets, maritime patrol planes and drones that buzzed the airspace near Taiwan in the 24-hour period leading to Monday morning demonstrated Beijing’s appetite for confrontation with the United States over Taiwan, the island democracy China claims as its territory. The military activity — which, according…

Chinese Drones: The Latest Irritant Buzzing Taiwan’s Defenses

Chin@Strategy

TAIPEI, Taiwan — At first the Taiwanese soldiers ignored the drones flying from China. Then, as the flights increased, they fired warning shots. Finally, the soldiers shot one into the sea. In the past month nearly 30 unarmed drones have buzzed two islands belonging to Taiwan near China’s southern coast. The drones were mostly civilian, or unidentified, but were clearly targeting the garrison of Taiwanese soldiers stationed on the rocky outcrops. The drones are adding to tensions between the two sides which have escalated in the past month to new…

Navy Recovers Stealthy Jet From Deep in the South China Sea

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The Navy has recovered a stealthy F-35 warplane that fell into the South China Sea after it crashed while trying to land on a Navy aircraft carrier, the service announced on Thursday. The Navy’s Japan-based Seventh Fleet said a remote-operated vehicle attached lines to the plane, which was then lifted 12,400 feet to the surface of the ocean and winched aboard the deck of a civilian vessel called the Picasso that the Navy contracted to assist in the operation. “This deliberate approach resulted in the correct capabilities conducting recovery operations…

What Happens When a Stealth Jet Ends Up on the Ocean Floor?

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — On Jan. 24, one of the U.S. Navy’s most expensive warplanes crashed as it tried to land on an aircraft carrier and sank to the bottom of the South China Sea. The $94 million F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is now the subject of a salvage operation. In a statement issued on the day of the incident, the Navy said seven sailors had been injured when the jet suffered a “landing mishap” on the aircraft carrier, the Carl Vinson. It did not mention that the plane had ended up…

U.S. Navy Fighter Jet Accident in South China Sea Injures 7

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An accident aboard an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea injured seven American sailors and led to the pilot ejecting from his F-35 fighter jet on Monday, the Navy said in a statement, calling it a “landing mishap.” The combat aircraft, a F-35C Lightning II, had been conducting routine flight operations before getting into difficulties on the deck of the carrier Carl Vinson, the statement said. The cause of the accident was unclear, but the Navy said it was being investigated. Though such incidents are unusual, it comes months…

U.S. and China Enter Dangerous Territory Over Taiwan

Chin@Strategy

At one particularly tense moment, in October 2020, American intelligence reports detailed how Chinese leaders had become worried that President Trump was preparing an attack. Those concerns, which could have been misread, prompted Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to call his counterpart in Beijing to assure otherwise. “The Taiwan issue has ceased to be a sort of narrow, boutique issue, and it’s become a central theater — if not the central drama — in U.S.-China strategic competition,” said Evan Medeiros, who served on…

1958, 1994 and 2021: India Continues to be an Onlooker in Taiwan Straits Crisis – News18

Media Library

The brazenness with which China’s air force scrambled a record number of aircraft across the Taiwan Straits in the last few days is in sharp contrast to the strategic calmness with which the government and the people in Taiwan responded. For, the Taiwanese knew the antics of China’s Communist Party for long—having engaged with them in pitched military and diplomatic battles for more than seven decades. China sent 38 aircraft on its National Day on October 1, ramping them further to 39 aircraft the next day and crossing and violating…

China threatens Taiwan with ‘immediate war’ amid reports US has troops in region

Chin@Strategy

CHINA has threatened Taiwan with “immediate war” after it was falsely reported that the US has 30,000 troops in the region. Chinese warships, anti-submarine aircrafts and fighter jets were dispatched for military drills close to the island nation following alleged “external interference and provocations”. 4 Chinese state media has threatened Taiwan with ‘immediate war’ after reports of 30,000 American troops in the regionCredit: Getty 4 Senator John Cornyn tweeted out bogus troop numbers today Now, Beijing’s state-run media has launched a scathing attack on Taiwan, which China claims as its…