This is a linchpin week. Britain’s new aircraft carrier stands by with courses ready for the South Sea. America has an inauguration scheduled amid more foreseeable chaos, likely greater than Hong Kong. Bad news on China only gets worse—while the… Read More ›

Military
AVIC building twin-seat version of top fighter jet
Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation’s leading aircraft maker, is poised to develop a twin-seat version of its J-20 stealth fighter jet-China’s most advanced combat plane, according to the State-owned conglomerate. In a video clip recently published on AVIC’s… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, January 9, 2021
Let’s look past the fact that Chinese state media doesn’t know what it means to be “cowardly”. Pompeo rejecting Chinese Communist preferences on US policy with Taiwan is not “cowardly”, at worst it would be “foolish” or “over-confidence”; but “cowardly”… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, January 4, 2021
The Chinese make one huge gamble based on two doubtful conclusions. They think Biden will be inaugurated in January. They think they have deterred the US military in the Pacific. Both notions have been carefully feigned and crafted by the… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 28, 2020
Anymore, it’s not only bad news about China, but continued action in both military and trade. The pressure Washington puts on Beijing keeps finding new ways to keep turning up. Sanctions continue to increase. Military attention rises. And, Japan puts… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 7, 2020
A date which will live in infamy, 79 years ago. The Chinese warned the Japanese not to attack America for fear of waking a sleeping giant. Now, the Chinese are speeding against their own advice. The move will likely be… Read More ›
Invasion killer: Taiwan’s new subs a formidable force
On paper, as they say, China has a distinct advantage when it comes to naval power. Over the past decade, it has aggressively built up its navy to over 300 warships and submarines, making it the largest navy in the… Read More ›
Trump’s spy chief says China working on ‘super soldiers’
In the 1987 movie Robocop, Peter Weller portrays a police officer who is nearly killed by criminals, and whose brain and body are used by scientists to create a cyborg policeman, equipped with super strength. Of course, it all goes… Read More ›
China’s new H-20 stealth bomber could hit Pearl Harbor: analysts
Just when things were not going well for the Pentagon, vis-a-vis China’s rapid military growth, US planners now have to rethink the entire scenario. There’s a new kid on the block, and “he” is terrifying. It involves China’s new H-20… Read More ›
China tests engine for Mach 16 aerospace bomber
SCMP says in its report “Chinese team test jet engine ‘able to reach anywhere on Earth within 2 hours” that China tests a prototype of sodramjet engine in its hypersonic wind tunnel in Beijing. Such enigine can power an aerospaceplane… Read More ›
China looks to create an army of stealth fighter jets with new ‘metamaterial’ element
Scientists in China have reportedly made breakthroughs in an engineered material that is set to enhance the stealth technology used in fighter jets in possession of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Stealth technology is considered to the most advanced technology… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 16, 2020
America is one of the most cunning nations, almost as much so as Britain. Chinese are known for signing contracts early, then negotiating after—something the West calls “reneging”, which breaks the contract. London always knew China wouldn’t be able to… Read More ›
PLAAF J-16 fighter pilots seen using new helmet
Footage released on 11 November by the state-owned China Central Television 7 (CCTV 7) channel shows that People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) pilots of J-16 multirole fighter aircraft are using what appears to be a new helmet featuring a… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 9, 2020
China and Taiwan are in a military face-off for a singular reason: xenophobia. Taiwan had everything it needed to counter China without help from the US, but it snubbed foreigners and still continues to do so today. Were it not… Read More ›
Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning embarks on voyage, sets fighter jet pilot training history
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning has been at sea over the past week, making history by qualifying the first batch of new fighter jet pilots who were directly recruited from high school and trained specifically… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 2, 2020
China, China, China. What is the world to think? As a condition of formalizing relations between the United States and Communist-controlled China, US law mandated weapons sales to Taiwan. Now, China is angry that the US upheld this law. Would… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, October 26, 2020
The flashpoint of Taiwan has become a pregnant possibility. Reportedly, a US military jet flew across Taiwan, and no one is fully certain over who claimed what and why. Taiwan’s government said something after the US government said something about… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, October 19, 2020
The new global trend is hit pieces against China; even a Taiwanese rapper is on the bandwagon. China’s solution to lack of technology is to take over countries that have enough freedom to create technology, then deprive those countries of… Read More ›
China’s new early warning aircraft makes maiden flight
As China builds aircraft carriers, it was expected to develop a carrier-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system — and that appears to be happening with the recent progress of the KJ-600. Unverified photos posted on social media show… Read More ›
After stealth J-20, China’s next fighter-jet could be a super F-35 copycat
In its endeavours of achieving the “world-class military” status, China’s military and its defence industry may have taken a significant step in the right direction with the development of its first sixth-generation fighter jet, which experts claim to be a… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 31, 2020
There was always a stark difference between America’s southern wall and the Berlin Wall. America’s wall was built to keep people out—whether they were desperate to come in or hungry to invade. The Berlin Wall was meant to keep people… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 24, 2020
These days, Taiwan is the perfect poster boy in China bashing. Yes, China needs to be confronted. No, China can’t own the world. Yes, China wants to own the world. Yes, China responds to anything and everything like a friendless… Read More ›
China unveils its own ‘mother of all bombs’ that is stealth, precision-guided & can drop 240 bombs
China recently unveiled its new 500 kg missile system Tianlei 500 which translates to ‘Sky Thunder’. People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) new munition dispenser and how it can be used to attack targets were featured in a defence programme on state… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 17, 2020
All of us enjoy the results of the paths we choose, paths which no one can choose for us. Americans believe this so strongly, it often leads to unhealthy apathy toward others in distress. When America finally decides to help… Read More ›
China unveils two-seater design for stealth plane based on J-20 fighter
China is developing a new generation two-seater stealth warplane, based on its most advanced fighter the J-20, intended as an early-warning aircraft that will serve as a command centre for other weapons such as fighter jets and rocket launchers. Chengdu… Read More ›
Wanted: Chinese navy pilots with the right stuff
The main fear of US fighter pilots in Vietnam, was not being shot down by SAM missiles. It wasn’t even the unreliability of Sidewinder missiles, which often failed after going from the cold confines of 30,000+ feet, down to the… Read More ›
Deception is key to Chinese military strategies
The role of deception in military operations has long been valued by Chinese military leaders and strategists. Despite this long tradition, few studies on Chinese military power touch on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s use of deception. China regards deception… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, July 27, 2020
Bail on Hong Kong, jump to Taiwan. That’s the move from everyone. Britain doesn’t bail on Hong Kong, but creates a path for Hong Kongers to bail on Hong Kong. Britain isn’t just walking away. By allowing British Overseas Passport… Read More ›
Stealth UAVs could give China’s Type-076 assault carrier more firepower
The Chinese Navy is building assault carriers to support amphibious operations, like a possible invasion of Taiwan or landings on disputed islands in the South China Sea. The first two ships, called LHDs (landing helicopter docks) in naval terminology, are… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, July 13, 2020
China and the US have shown their intentions to the world. The new “National Security Law”, passed and interpreted solely by the Chinese Communist Party, applies to the entire world. China made it illegal for Americans to support calls for… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, July 6, 2020
It’s official. China has broken the treaty that allows Hong Kong to be Chinese. The last time Britain accused China of breaking treaty, the Royal Navy opened fire on the Taiwan city of Tainan in 1858. The time before that… Read More ›
Chinese army demonstrates rifle-size railgun prototypes
According to Liu Xuanzun on Global Times, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has miniaturized an electromagnetic railgun and developed pistol- and rifle-sized synchronous induction coilgun prototypes. These weapons’ technical capabilities were recently revealed to the general public for the… Read More ›
Large number of Chinese troops amassed along India’s border
China has deployed large numbers of troops and weapons along a disputed Himalayan border in violation of bilateral agreements, India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, accusing Beijing of escalating tensions and triggering a deadly clash last week. “At the heart… Read More ›
Chinese navy has commissioned Z-20F/J naval version of Z-20 helicopter
According to pictures released by the China Defense Blog on June 20, 2020, the Chinese Navy has commissioned Z-20F also called Z-20J by other Chinese sources, a naval version of the Chinese-made Harbin Z-20 medium-lift utility helicopter produced by the… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 22, 2020
China seems desperate for war. America has typically been the infamous provocateur. That’s how China paints things. That’s how Japan and Germany saw things. But, China has taken up a new role. Buzzing jets into Taiwanese airspace is just one… Read More ›
China’s global Navy eyeing sea control by 2030, superiority by 2049
I assess that the PLA Navy by 2030 will consist of a surface force of over 450 ships and a submarine force approaching 110 submarines, an almost 10% increase from my 2015 estimate. It may still be a low estimate…. Read More ›
China just added two new nuclear missile submarines to its fleet
Here’s What You Need To Remember: What is clear, however, is that the Chinese government is telling the world that the DF-100 is a hypersonic, regional-level anti-ship missile that will impose a new, challenging threat-vector for long-range attacks against large… Read More ›
Chinese PLA Navy Shandong Type 001A aircraft carrier conducts sea trials
During a press conference that was held on Friday May 29, 2020, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, has announced that the Chinese Navy (PLA People’s Liberation Armed Forces) is conducting sea trials for aircraft carrier Type 001A Shandong in… Read More ›
China’s FC-31 stealth fighter jet making new progress, photos show
New photos of a prototype FC-31, China’s second type of stealth fighter jet, have been appearing frequently on Chinese social media since May, years after disappearing from the public eye. Now painted in a silver gray coating, its development is… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, May 25, 2020
Taiwan has a new Vice President: Former Premier William Lai, known for his pro-independence posture. China won’t be happy, but China is rarely happy these days. The Chinese made two loud omissions in their rhetoric this week. When talking about… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, May 18, 2020
It was a week of slap after slap in China’s face. Congress pokes at Human Rights in Xinjiang among other old-news grievances. China “warns” the US—again—about Huawei, apparently unaware that warnings require power or at least clout, of which China… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, May 11, 2020
China must brace itself for war. Regardless of any plot from America being true or false, how Beijing handled Wuhan—or rather mishandled—will not be overlooked by the free world. Regardless of how different governments handled the outbreak, the West will… Read More ›
Cadence Cadence: Asia, April 27, 2020
China is under global attack from all sides. It’s not just the government, but a sizeable portion of the Chinese people who cooperate with that government. We don’t know how many in China are part of the problem or the… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, March 23, 2020
China’s in trouble—deep trouble. America pauses with the same hush of silence that swept the country from the outskirts of Washington to New Orleans in 1812, gathering around the radio in 1941, or staring at the same TV images on… Read More ›
US Navy warns China ‘you don’t want to play laser tag with us’ after a Chinese destroyer fired a military-grade laser at a US aircraft
The US Navy warned China on social media after one of the Asian nation’s warships fired a military-grade laser at a US aircraft, telling them: “You don’t want to play laser tag with us.” US Pacific Fleet said in a… Read More ›
China paid a big price for stealing a Russian fighter jet design
Remember that Russian carrier-based jet that China copied without permission? Those airplanes are crashing, and Russia doesn’t seem too broken up about it. Though Russia and China are now friends, even holding joint exercises, Russia’s Sputnik News recently trotted out… Read More ›
A dramatic before and after look at China’s first aircraft carrier
A picture of China’s first aircraft carrier before it was eventually completed has surfaced on the Chinese internet. The images showed up on Tencent’s microblog and show a rusty, unfinished hulk. The ship, built for the USSR but never completed,… Read More ›
Make no mistake: China would destroy U.S. cities in a nuclear war
When one reads enough Chinese naval literature, diagrams of multi-axial cruise missile saturation attacks against aircraft carrier groups may begin to seem normal. However, one particular graphic from the October 2015 issue (p. 32) of the naval journal Naval &… Read More ›
China built its J-20 stealth fighter aircraft without any guns
China’s J-20 stealth fighter doesn’t have a gun. That could be a problem for the Chinese air force. Observers of the twin-engine stealth fighter long had speculated that the J-20 lacks a cannon. Photography of J-20s since the type’s first… Read More ›
Pilot shortages could ground China’s plans to develop combat-ready aircraft carrier fleet
A shortage of naval pilots is holding back Beijing’s ambitions to develop a truly combat-ready fleet, military analysts have said. China officially commissioned its second aircraft carrier the Shandong last week, which means it will need at least 70 pilots,… Read More ›