The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has significantly
improved its combat effectiveness by learning to land helicopters
at night on moving warships after three decades of failed attempts,
according to a senior PLA official.
The PLA has turned its once single functional shipboard air
troop into an all-weather and multi-task combat force, said Luo
Changshuang, political commissar of the troop.
The troop's combat effectiveness has expanded from shore-based
to vessel-based, its scope for maneuver has stretched from offshore
to the open sea and its missions have evolved from being only
concerned with transportation to cooperation with other types of
armed services, including marine rescue and anti-submarine
operations, he said.
Luo revealed that the troop used to have only transport
helicopters, but now the types and functions of the aircraft have
increased. He refused to reveal specific models and the types of
missions performed by those that are in service.
Launched in May 1975, the troop has developed into a major force
striving to safeguard China's 3 million square kilometers of
territorial waters, experts say. They believe the troop can also
perform the duty of sending soldiers for a major landing
operation.
The troop is only equipped with helicopters, carried by
destroyers and frigates, as the country does not have an aircraft
carrier. Luo declined to reveal the number of pilots and
helicopters serving in the troop, and whether the country will
develop a shipboard jet fighter and bomber fleet.
He said the helicopter troop had intensified training in recent
years to maintain its combat effectiveness, including high-risk
night landings on moving warships, which were first achieved in
October 2006, and round-the-clock operations.
Around 180 take-offs and landings are completed within 24 hours
and this training often lasts three days.
Statistics from the United States show that the accident ratio
for shipboard aircraft pilots is five times that for astronauts and
ten times that for jet bomber pilots. However, the Chinese
shipboard aircraft troop has recorded safe flights for 24
consecutive years, said Luo.
The troop succeeded in rapidly salvaging data modules of
China-launched carrier rockets on the Pacific. The helicopter units
it dispatched completed transport assignments at China's Great Wall
Station in Antarctica. Its shipboard helicopters have visited
40-odd countries and regions with Chinese navy's warship
formations.
(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2007)