Two Chinese test pilots were killed during development of the country’s first aircraft carrier fighter wing, state media said, in a rare admission of problems with the hugely popular naval program.
The admission came in a report by Xinhua news agency, saying Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had signed an order awarding honorary titles to all pilots in the first squadron to conduct take-off and landing tests aboard the Liaoning, China’s only aircraft carrier.
“Two test pilots of the squadron sacrificed their lives during the tests,” the report said.
No details were given.
The original Xinhua report ran on Aug. 28, but went largely overlooked at the time. It was picked up by US defense blogs and linked on Friday to the blog of the US Naval Institute.
Carrier flight operations are inherently risky and the loss of two pilots is far from unusual. However, China’s military still operates under a shroud of secrecy and no deadly accidents relating to the carrier had been reported at the time.
China announced it had begun flight tests on the Liaoning in late 2012, spurring a wave of patriotic pride in the country’s growing capabilities. State television ran hours of footage of planes landing and taking off, while Internet users across the country posted photographs of themselves recreating the carrier flight crews’ “all-clear” signal to the pilot.
Chinese carrier pilots fly the J-15 fighter-bomber, a copy of Russia’s Sukhoi Su-33.
China spent a decade refurbishing a derelict Soviet-era carrier bought from Ukraine before commissioning it as the Liaoning in 2012. It is part of a major expansion of the Chinese navy that includes sophisticated new surface ships and submarines. The ship is slower and smaller than US aircraft carriers and does not carry as many aircraft.
The Liaoning is still conducting sea trials and Chinese defense officials have not said when, or even if, it will receive its full complement of aircraft.
On Dec. 5 last year a Chinese ship accompanying the Liaoning was involved in a near collision with a US Navy cruiser, the USS Cowpens, when it was operating in international waters in the South China Sea. US Navy officials said the Cowpens maneuvered to avoid the collision, but it marked the two nations’ most serious sea confrontation in years.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
RSS