Satellite images show Chinese fighter jets deployed to base in Tibet May 24, 2013
Posted by David Cenciotti in : China, Military Aviation , add a commentThe following Google Earth screenshots were taken by The Aviationist reader Nicolae Sinu.
They show the airfield in Tibet where five Chinese J-11 fighter jets (indigenous Su-27 Flankers) appear to be based.
The base is a part of Chinese strategy of widening China’s power in the Indian region and it is considered to be a response to the Indian air bases of Chabua and Tezpur in Assam region.
Image credit: Google Earth
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China deploys Su-27 fighter jets to Tibet May 23, 2013
Posted by Jacek Siminski in : China, Military Aviation , 1 comment so farThe Chinese have recently created a Su-27 airbase in Tibet, as CNN-IBN reports. It was made official just recently as several of these planes were spotted in Gonkar airbase last winter.
Image credit: People’s Daily Online
Lack of infrastructure and high altitude (about 11,500 feet above the Sea Level) are claimed to be limiting factor for the operationability of the Flankers.
Altitude is said not only to affect the planes, but also the pilots who have to get used to lack of oxygen at that altitude, just like Himalayan climbers do.
It is claimed by CNN that enough infrastructure has been created for the fighters. It has been built for several years in secrecy and that’s why India, that is located in a close vicinity, feels endangered.
The base is a part of Chinese strategy of widening China’s power in the Indian region. The base is considered to be a response to the Indian air bases of Chabua and Tezpur in Assam region. These bases are home for Indian Su-30MKI‘s capable of hitting targets in Tibet and China.
On the flipside, the Indian territories that are within the operational range of the Chinese fighters are located between Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh regions.
Image Credit: Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, U.S. Air Force, US DoD
When it comes to airports located quite high the Lukla airport in Nepal is one of the most famous ones. This airport is a base for climbers who are planning Mt. Everest expeditions. Nevertheless it is not located as high as the Chinese base (about 9,400 feet).
Here’s a bit scary video showing a landing at Lukla airport:
And another one, showing how the airport works from another perspective:
The runway ends with an almost vertical surface of the mountain, therefore it is one-way runway, without touch and go or go around options.
Nevertheless, despite being dangerous, the second video shows that it is quite busy.
Coming back to the Su-27s, the Chinese fighters stationed in the region are a part of established Nash equillibrium, as both India and China are in possession of nuclear armament: the recontextualization of Cold War political scheme is still present within the global political landscape.
Jacek Siminski for The Aviationist
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Fighter jets Insane Highway Operations – Belarusian Style April 16, 2013
Posted by Jacek Siminski in : Military Aviation , 2commentsEverybody remembers the videos posted on youtube in September last year, featuring the insane stunts of Russian helicopter and fighter pilots.
The Eastern cultural phenomenon of having a camera in the car (a “dash cam”) results in often bizzare or interesting clips, that have several thousands hits on YouTube (like the recent one showing a meteorite over Russia).
Belarusian Su-24, Radom Air Show 2009. Image Credit: Jacek Siminski
Lately the topic of highway operations has also been mentioned on TheAviationist, regarding North Korean and Polish use of highways as landing strips.
Nevertheless former parts of Ivan’s empire are not behind what is shown in the following clip.
What is different about this video recorded on Apr. 9, 2013, is the fact, that the landing planes seem to ignore the traffic! The video shows cars passing by and two Su-25 Frogfoot jets landing as if it was an ordinary, everyday procedure.
The gear of both the planes is clearly extended as the jets fly at extremely low level over the traffic: even if they were not actually landing, they are dangerously close to the cars below them.
Indeed, it is said that back in 2007 Su-27s and MiG-29s did land on the very same highway, but back then the road was closed for civilian traffic.
Here’s the video, enjoy:
David Cenciotti has contributed to this post
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Cockpit camera view from inside a Russian Air Force +20-ship formation January 1, 2013
Posted by David Cenciotti in : Airshow, Military Aviation , 3commentsFilmed by cameras installed in the cockpit of Su-27SM3, Su-25SM and MiG-29 SMT this interesting video will let you join one of the mass flybys, with which the Russian Air Force celebrated its 100th anniversary at Zhukovsky, Moscow, on Aug. 11 and 12.
The pyrotechnic airshow featured heavy formations of Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers, Su-27s, MiG-29s, Su-24s and the new Sukhoi PAK FA (T-50).
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Cool GoPro video brings you onboard “Kubinka Diamond” display team’s Su-27, Mig-29 fighter jets December 11, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in : Military Aviation , 7commentsThe following video was filmed with a GoPro HD Hero2 camera installed on the tail of a Mig-29 and inside the cockpit of a Su-27 of the so-called “Kubinka Diamond”, the Russian Air Force display team made by four Flankers of the “Russian Knights” and and five Fulcrums of the «Strizhi» (Swifts).
Both aerobatic teams are based at Kubinka airbase, near Moscow.
According to the author of the video, Artur Sarkisyan, the camera filmed the aerobatic maneuvers sustained g-forces up to 6 g at a speed of 1,000 km/h.
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