Russia & China Conduct Massive Joint Naval War Preparation … Aircraft, Sub-Hunting & Surface Attack

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

The Russian and Chinese military are greatly expanding military cooperation, joint training exercises and some kinds of limited multi-domain surface-air networking, as evidenced by recent joint patrols and war preparation exercises in the Pacific. 

While the Russian Navy itself may not seem particularly threatening, especially when one looks at the large and very capable Chinese Navy, the prospect of large-scale Russian-Chinese military collaboration is certain to gain attention at the Pentagon. The real question seems to be a technological one, as even if Russian and Chinese military forces were quite serious about combined maritime warfare power, an ability to accomplish that depends upon the extent of truly effective tactical joint, multi-domain, interoperable warfighting capability. 

The Russian state-backed TASS News Agency published a report citing “intense” combat exercises and “joint maneuvering” between a large Russian anti-submarine ship called Admiral Tributs, several other Russian ships and several Chinese destroyers the Qiqihar and Guiyang, supported by several Chinese Frigates. 

Some exercises took place in the Sea of Japan and others in different parts of the Western Pacific, in what appear to have been rather large Naval formations.  The Russians and Chinese have a history of joint or collaborative military activity, so the existence of the joint maneuvers is not new persay , but the Russian TASS article does suggest the military-to-military maneuvering between the Russians and Chinese is expanding to include a more multi-domain focus.  The war preparations were described as involving artillery firings, more than 30 Naval aircraft from both countries and coordinated anti-submarine missions.

 “The drills involved over 30 naval aircraft from both sides, including anti-submarine warfare planes and helicopters and fighter-interceptors.”This patrol was the longest and its first stage lasted a week. It was more intense with combat exercises and joint maneuvering. Aircraft from both our side and the Chinese side carried out a large number of flights,” the TASS article writes. 

The reference to over 30 naval aircraft also seems to raise a few questions, as neither the Chinese or Russian formations reportedly contained an aircraft carrier. This means Chinese-Russian efforts to project Naval air power would likely be limited to destroyer-launched helicopters, depending upon how far off shore the war preparations may be.  Helicopters can be effective for submarine hunting, but the TASS article makes mention of large sub-hunting planes and even fighter-interceptor jets. Where are they coming from? With a carrier in formation, it does  not seem as though they could come from the ocean, something which would limited the combined maritime-warfare capability to coastal areas within reach of land-launched aircraft.