China steals a march on Russian arms

[unhappycamper]

http://atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-02-131213.html



China steals a march on Russian arms
By Loro Horta
Dec 13, '13

In March 2013, Russian and Chinese media reported that Beijing was acquiring significant quantities of advanced military equipment from Russia. Among the multi-billion dollar systems to be bought by the Chinese military are six Lada-class attack submarines and 35 SU-35 fighter jets.

These acquisitions are significant because they are sophisticated systems and it has been more than a decade since China purchased any significant weapon systems from Moscow.

After making substantial purchases from Russia from the mid-1990s to the early-2000s, China began to reverse engineer weapons such as the SU-27 multi-role fighter, the NORINCO T-90 tank, and several components of its most advanced conventionally powered submarines. Occasionally, China legally purchased licensing rights to Russian systems. Achieving self-reliance in military technology has long been a major priority of China s defense policy.

From the late 1990s China invested significant resources to develop an indigenous submarine program. Consequently, the Chinese Navy (PLAN) has launched several types of submarines, including diesel- and nuclear-powered attack submarines and nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. But while China's submarine program has made progress, the PLAN seems dissatisfied with the quality of the indigenous platforms, which has forced the turn back to Russia.

[Laelth]

1. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth