China's Military Progress Challenges Western Dominance, Says IISS | Deutsche Welle

China accounted for a third of Asia's military spending in 2016 and was looking to sell more arms abroad, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in a report on Tuesday. China's overall defense budget last year was $145 billion (137 billion euros), 1.8 times higher than South Korea and Japan combined. China's spending was topped only by the United States which spent $604.5 billion (572 billion euros) on defense in 2016.

China Plans to Launch 1st Cargo Spacecraft As Early As Mid-April | Xinhua

China plans to launch its first cargo spacecraft via a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket in April, sources said. Consisting of a cargo capsule and a propellant capsule, Tianzhou-1, the first cargo spacecraft independently developed by China, has a take-off weight of about 13 tonnes, up to six tonnes of which is payload. It can remain in space on its own for as long as three months.

 

Russia: Contract of S-400 Missile Systems to China at Manufacturing Stage | China Military

Russia's contract on the sell of S-400 air defense missile systems to China is at the manufacturing stage, reported Russian news agency Sputnik, citing Victor Kladov, director for international cooperation of the Rostec state corporation. "Thus far there is an operating contract signed with China on the supply of S-400, it is in the production phase," Sputnik quoted Kladov as saying.

 

China Tests Missile with 10 Warheads | Washington Free Beacon

China flight tested a new variant of a long-range missile with 10 warheads in what defense officials say represents a dramatic shift in Beijing's strategic nuclear posture.

 

China's Defense Ministry Confirms Multi-Warhead Missile Test | Washington Free Beacon

The recent Chinese missile launch with 10 warheads was a normal "scientific" test and not targeted at any foreign nation, according to China's Defense Ministry.

 

Classified Report on Hypersonics Says US Lacking Urgency | Aviation Week

Less than four years ago, it seemed that the US Air Force was on the brink of developing the first generation of air-breathing high-speed strike weapons following the success of the experimental scramjet-powered Boeing X-51A. Now a classified report warns that the United State  may be losing its lead in hypersonics to China and Russia.

 

China Unveils Small Precision-Guided Missile AR-2 | Quwa

The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics recently revealed the AR-2 small precision-guided air-to-ground missile, the China Daily reports. The AR-2 uses a 5-kg warhead with a semi-active laser-homing seeker. The AR-2 was designed for the CH-series of armed unmanned aerial vehicles, which were developed and produced by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

 

New Chinese Missile Upgrade Likely Designed with Taiwan In Its Crosshairs | Forbes

Earlier this month, the state-run English-language newspaper China Daily reported on the most recent public displays of the People's Republic of China's  DF-16, designed, in large part, as a potential offensive weapon against the island nation of Taiwan.

 

Expert: What's Behind China's Trial Launch Of DF-5C Intercontinental Missile | China Military

Some international media reported recently that China trial-launched its new intercontinental missile DF-5C carrying 10 MIRVs (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle) in early January. What's the strategic significance of the successful trial launch of DF-5C? What technological innovations does it have?

 

NASA, Under Donald Trump, Plans to Compete with China's Space Program | Sydney Morning Herald

Trump and his aides may demand that NASA send astronauts to orbit the moon before the end of Trump's first term--a move that one Trump adviser said would be a clear signal to the Chinese that the United States intends to retain dominance in space.

 

China to Launch Advanced Propulsion and Laser Communications Satellites in 2017 | gbtimes

China is preparing for a series of experimental communications satellite launches in 2017, starting with Shijian-13 (Zhongxing-16) in April and the Long March 5 launch of Shijian-18 in June. Shijian-13 will test advanced ion propulsion that will cut the need for propellant, saving liftoff mass and mission lifetime.

Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder Fighter Will Fly In 2017 | Aviation Week

With the first export orders signed and new capabilities being introduced at a rapid pace, 2017 looks set to be an important year for the JF-17 Thunder developed by China and Pakistan. 

 

Ideas about the JF-17 Block-III's Electronics Suite | Quwa

With a fifth JF-17 unit scheduled to be raised soon (replacing another F-7P squadron) and the JF-17B twin-seat variant coming to fruition, the Pakistan Air Force's (PAF) newest fighter platform is evidently forming the mainstay of the PAF fighter fleet. 

 

New Strategic Bomber to Make PLA Air Force a Strong Force | China Military

"We are developing the new-generation long range strike bomber [LRSB]. You will see it in the future," said the PLA Air Force commander Ma Xiaotian at a PLA Air Force open day event when answering reporters' questions on September 1, 2016. Since then China's new-generation LRSB has drawn extensive attention in the world.

China's New Aircraft Carrier to be Launched Early 2017 and to Enter the Service by 2020, Experts Say | People's Daily

China's second aircraft carrier is scheduled to be launched later this year and is expected to enter the service by 2020, Xu Guangyu, a retired Chinese military officer and consultant to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, said in an interview with Beijing Media Network.

 

2nd Carrier Almost Complete | Global Times

China is close to completing its second aircraft carrier, which will begin service by 2020, experts said. China Central Television reported that the PLA Navy's Type 001A class aircraft carrier's scaffold has been removed and red undercoat has been painted below the ship's waterline in Dalian, northeastern Liaoning Province, and that a launching ceremony will soon be held.  

 

No Advanced Jet Launch System for China's Third Aircraft Carrier, Experts Say | South China Morning Post

China will not adopt highly ­advanced electromagnetic take-off technology on its second domestically built aircraft carrier but instead rely on a conventional system, naval experts say.

 

China's Navy has the High Tech Warships and Weapons for World Patrols, Says Chinese Expert | Yibada

The man who was chief designer of China's only aircraft carrier, the CNS Liaoning (CV-16), claims China is now one of the leading surface warship makers in the world. Equipment and weapons used by surface warships of the People Liberation Army Navy have also developed rapidly in recent years to meet China's defense needs, according to Zhu Yingfu, a researcher at the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation 701 Institute, and an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Chinese Acquisitions Undercut Taiwan, US Semiconductor Industry Edge | China Brief

Taiwan's position as a keystone of the global supply of semiconductors is strong, but rapidly eroding. Long-term tech trends and the PRC's drive to become a global leader in semiconductor production are eroding this edge. Though the PRC's desire for high-tech industries like semiconductor fabrication are primarily rooted in economic goals, the strategic implications of Taiwan's eroding "Silicon Shield" should not be overlooked.

 

Plan for $10 Billion Chip Plant Shows China's Growing Pull | New York Times

The California-based chip maker GlobalFoundries announced a $10 billion project in China, showing how the center of gravity continues to shift across the Pacific. The new advanced semiconductor factory, in the central Chinese city of Chengdu, is only the most recent in an array of investments, often by major multinationals, into China with the support of the Chinese government.

 

The US Chip Industry Is Growing in China | MIT Technology Review

In a move that may upset the Trump administration, California-based chip maker GlobalFoundries has announced that it plans to build a new fabrication plant in China at a cost of $10 billion. The move is part of an expansion strategy that will include increasing production of its semiconductors in facilities in the United States, Germany, and Singapore. But the US facilities are likely to see the most modest growth.

 

China's First "Deep Learning Lab" Intensifies Challenge to US in Artificial Intelligence Race | South China Morning Post

Beijing has given the green light for the creation of China's very first "national laboratory for deep learning," in a move that could help the country to surpass the United States in developing artificial intelligence. The National Development and Reform Commission recently approved the plan to set up a national engineering "lab" for researching and implementing deep learning technologies. The lab will not have a physical presence, instead taking the form of a research network predominantly based online.

A video recently discovered on a Chinese Internet service appears to show a new Chinese road-mobile missile making a turn at an intersection in the city of Daqing. The discovery generated sensational claims about changes in Chinese nuclear strategy. However, a careful search of Chinese sources shows that none of those claims can be substantiated. Some are obvious distortions.

China's Drone Makers Eye New Markets | ECNS

China's Strategic Support Force: A Force for Innovation? | The Diplomat

Looking forward, the Strategic Support Force could become a vital force for innovation through which PLA may seek to leapfrog the US military in critical emerging technologies.

 

Ren Xinmin, Pioneering Chinese Satellite Designer, Dies at 101 | New York Times

In the winter of 1967, a group of Chinese space experts trudged across a desert in China's western borderlands in search of a crashed test rocket. The cold crept into their sheepskin coats, one of the experts, Ma Zuoxin, recalled in a 2014 documentary film. "It chilled us to the bone." But they kept walking for days, he said, trailing their leader, Ren Xinmin. And at dusk on the fifth night, Dr. Ren at last spotted the rocket's blackened wreckage poking out of the ground. For Dr. Ren, who died on Feb. 12 at 101, the desert odyssey was just one gambit in a lifelong quest to develop China's space program.