Type 093 Nuclear Submarine, one of Chinese Best equip sub

The Nuclear armed attack submarine: Type 093 (NATO reporting name: Shang, Chinese designation: 09-III) is a nuclear powered attack submarine class deployed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. These boats are expected to replace the older Type 091 (NATO: Han class) SSNs currently in service. The Type 093 will be armed with various torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.
The lead boat in this class was launched in 2002. It is thought to have a seven-blade asymmetric propeller. Construction of the Type 093 submarines is being conducted at the Bohai Shipyard in Huludao. Six to eight boats are expected to be built.

Programme
The PRC began to develop its second-generation nuclear submarines in the mid-1980s, but little progress was made before the mid-1990s. It was widely speculated that Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering in St. Petersburg, one of main Russian centres of submarine design, has been assisting the PRC in developing its new generation nuclear submarines. Exactly how much help China has received from Rubin Design Bureau is unknown, but it could potentially include a range of critical assistance, including overall hull design, engine and machinery quieting, combat system design, and weapon system and countermeasures outfit.
Construction of the Type 093 began in 1995~96 at the Bohai Shipyard under tight security and high secrecy. The first-of-class submarine was launched in December 2002. After a sea trial that lasted for four years, the submarine was finally commissioned by the PLA Navy North Sea Fleet in December 2006. A second hull was launched in late 2003 and possibly commissioned in 2007. The existence of the submarine project was first reported by the Pentagon in 2003. The U.S. Navy intelligence and Pentagon predicted that the PLA Navy could have 3~4 submarines by 2010, while other sources suggested that eventual production could reach 6~8 boats.
During the exhibition at Beijing’s Military Museum of Chinese People’s Revolution in late July to mark the 80th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a scale model and some hazy photos of the Type 093 SSN were presented to the public. Later, Beijing-based Modern Ships magazine published in its August issue the first clear photo of the long-anticipated submarine.

Design
The Type 093 is estimated to be 6.000~7,000t displacement when dived. As revealed by the submarine model and Modern Ships photograph, the submarine features a water-drop shape hull, with a pair of fin-mounted hydroplanes and four diving planes. The submarine is fitted with sophisticated sonar systems, including bow-mounted sonar and H/SQC-207 flank-mounted sonar. Three flank-mounted sonar arrays are clearly visible on the hull of the submarine.
The Type 093 submarine has six 533mm bow torpedo tubes (4 above, 2 below), and is presumed to be equipped with a range of anti-submarine and anti-surface vessel torpedoes of wire-, acoustic- and wake-homing, based on both Chinese and Russian designs. The torpedo tubes can also be used to launch Chinese indigenous YJ-82 anti-ship missiles. Some reports suggested the capability of launching land-attack cruise missiles (LACM), but this cannot be confirmed.
Despite the previous rumour that the Type 093 was based on the design of the Russian Victor III class nuclear attack submarine, it appears that the two submarines bear no resemblance in appearance. However, it cannot be ruled out that Russian technologies were being incorporated into the Type 093’s design.
The Type 093 is thought to be approaching the early variants of the U.S. Navy 688 (Los Angeles) class SSN in terms of capability and noise level, but still inferior to the more advanced Seawolf and Virginia class. Nevertheless, this class of nuclear submarine represents a major step forward in PRC’s underwater warfare capability. Once fully operational, it could pose serious threat to the navies of China’s neighbouring countries and further complicate the anti-submarine challenge facing the U.S. Navy.

Sovremenny Class Destroyer, Current China's best Fleet

A Sovremenny Class destroyer has a maximum displacement of 8,480t and is similar to the USA Navy's Aegis-equipped missile cruisers in terms of size. It is armed with an anti-submarine helicopter, 48 air defence missiles, eight anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, mines, long-range guns and a comprehensive electronic warfare system. The first-of-class Sovremenny was commissioned in 1985. A total of 18 have been built for the Russian Navy. Five remain in service. All ships were built at the Northern Yard, Severnaya Verf, in Saint Petersburg. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has two modified Sovremenny destroyers, delivered in December 1999 and November 2000. In 2002, PLAN ordered two more. The first of these was launched in April 2004 and delivered in December 2005. The second vessel was launched in July 2004 and delivered in September 2006.

COMMAND AND CONTROL

The ship's combat systems can use target designation data from the ship's active and passive sensors, from other ships in the fleet, from surveillance aircraft or via a communications link from the ship's helicopter. The multi-channel defence suite is capable of engaging several targets simultaneously.

MISSILES

The ship is equipped with the Raduga Moskit anti-ship missile system with two four-cell launchers installed port and starboard of the forward island and set at an angle about 15°. The ship carries a total of eight Moskit 3M80E missiles, NATO designation SS-N-22 Sunburn. The missile is a sea-skimming missile with velocity Mach 2.5 and armed with a 300kg high-explosive warhead or a nuclear 200kt warhead. The range is from 10km to 120km. The launch weight is 4,000kg. Two Shtil surface-to-air missile systems are installed, each on the raised deck behind the two-barrelled 130mm guns. Shtil is the export name of the SA-N-7, NATO reporting name Gadfly. The system uses the ship's three-dimensional circular scan radar for target tracking. Up to three missiles can be aimed simultaneously. The range is up to 25km against targets with speeds up to 830m/s. The ship carries 48 Shtil missiles.

GUNS

The ship's 130mm guns are the AK-130-MR-184 supplied by the Ametist Design Bureau and the Frunze Arsenal Design Bureau in Saint Petersburg.
The system includes a computer control system with electronic and television sighting. The gun can be operated in fully automatic mode from the radar control system, under autonomous control using the turret-mounted Kondensor optical sighting system and can also be laid manually. Rate of fire is between 20 and 35 rounds/min. The ship has four six-barrel 30mm AK-630 artillery systems. The maximum rate of fire is 5,000 rounds/min. Range is up to 4,000m for low-flying anti-ship missiles and 5,000m for light surface targets. The gun is equipped with radar and television detection and tracking.

ANTI-SUBMARINE SYSTEMS

The destroyer has two double 533mm torpedo tubes and two six-barrel RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launchers, with 48 rockets. Range is 1,000m. The rocket is armed with a 55kg warhead.

HELICOPTER

The ship's helicopter pad accommodates one Kamov Ka-27 anti-submarine warfare helicopter, NATO codename Helix. The helicopter can operate in conditions up to Sea State 5 and up to 200km from the host ship.

COUNTERMEASURES

The Project 956 destroyer is fitted with an electronic countermeasures system and carries a store of 200 rockets for the two decoy dispensers, model PK-2.
SENSORS The ship is equipped with three navigation radars, an air target acquisition radar, and fire control radars for the 130mm gun and the 30mm gun. The sonar suite includes active and passive hull mounted search and attack sonar.

PROPULSION

The ship's propulsion system is based on two steam turbine engines each producing 50,000hp, together with four high-pressure boilers. There are two fixed-pitch propellers. The ship's maximum speed is just under 33kt. At a fuel-economic speed of 18kt the range is 3,920 miles.

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter "Lightning II"

Lightning II was the nickname, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was meant to be the new kid on the block in an arena of aging fighter and strike aircraft. Varying versions of the craft are slated for use by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
However, its development, under way by Lockheed Martin Corp. for more than a decade, has proven problematic. Expense, design flaws and proprietary issues related to its technology have all hampered progress. As such, none of the fighters have yet entered service, and none are expected to do so before 2012. In 2001, Lockheed Martin won the largest military contract on record, worth as much as $200 billion, to build the Joint Strike Fighter. The United Kingdom is making a contribution toward the development, as the craft is slated to be used by its Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. Other countries helping to bring the F-35 to fruition include Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and Canada.
Each of the services will receive a slightly different version of the F-35 tailored to their individual needs: The Air Force design, for example, allows for a conventional takeoff and landing, while the Navy design will be suitable for landing on and taking off from an aircraft carrier. For the Marine Corps, the design provides for a short takeoff and vertical landing.
The single-seat, single-engine aircraft contains a large internal weapons bay, a design that makes it more streamlined and stealthy, while a 25mm cannon, also internal, gives pilots the ability to fire on targets from higher up and farther away.
Using satellite communications, the aircraft will have the capacity to find and fire upon targets on the ground, even those that are moving. The data gleaned by the system also can be conveyed to the pilot’s helmet visor for easy viewing.

AV-8B Lightweight Single Seated Aircraft

AV-8B Harrier is a lightweight single seated aircraft used by the U.S. Marine Corps’ Air Ground Task Force to destroy targets on the ground and in the air and to act as an armed escort for helicopters.
It was the British who originally conceived of the Harrier, developing it 40 years ago with funding assistance from the U.S. government. Its unique engine design allows the Harrier to make a short takeoff from a small carrier via a special ramp and to land vertically.
The Harrier was used heavily by the British in the Falkland Islands in 1981, and the Royal Air Force relies on it for ground attacks -- it carries upward of 5,000 pounds of ordnance externally fired from two 30mm cannons. The Royal Navy uses the craft for defensive purposes.
A Marine colonel in the Vietnam War named Tom Miller played a part in the craft's adoption by the U.S. government. Miller observed the Harrier at a 1968 air show in England and became convinced it could be used to provide air support for U.S. Marine Corps amphibious landings.
An updated version of the Harrier, known as the AV-8B, was built in the United States by McDonnell Douglas, now a part of Boeing Co., via an agreement with the British Aerospace Corp. The new craft, about 47 feet in length with a wingspan of nearly 31 feet, can take off and land at a variety of sites, even makeshift airfields. Along with the U.S. Marine Corps, the Spanish and Italian navies also use the AV-8B.
Several design improvements are on the horizon for some Harriers, such as modernized engines and radar, as well as night vision goggles for the pilot that will allow the craft to be operated both during the day and under cover of night.