I think the following article from the Global Times demonstrates my point that the Sichuan earthquake has revealed the technological deficiencies of the PLA. The article quotes my favourite military expert Dai Xu in the last two paragraphs.
Foreign military aircraft participate in Chinese disaster relief
By Zhang Jiaqi and Liu Bin. Published on page 8 of the Global Times on 29 May 2008.
Apart from the comprehensive deployment of the PLA, military aircraft from the US, Russia and Pakistan have also delivered goods to the earthquake disaster zone as part of relief operations for the Wenchuan earthquake. A Russian MiG-26 is currently working with Chinese soldiers during the Tangjiashan quake lake crisis. The military aircraft from each country are together acting out a major rescue in the earthquake zone.
China welcomes assistance from foreign militaries
Following the earthquake, many foreign aircraft offered to help. On May 24, the Chinese Ministry of Defence publicly thanked the humanitarian assistance that the Russian and US defence departments gave the Sichuan disaster zone. The Ministry also welcomed foreign militaries to provide rescue goods in any form to the zone. In actual fact, the US Pacific Command sent two C-17 Globemaster-III transport planes to Chengdu on May 18 to deliver disaster relief supplies. The US Embassy in China revealed on May 28 that a total of three C-17s had delivered goods to Chengdu.
Russian military aircraft were even quicker to provide assistance in the wake of China’s earthquake. Within a week of the Wenchuan earthquake, Russia had dispatched seven IL-76 transport planes to the earthquake zone, delivering 150 tons of humanitarian aid, including tents and blankets. Following the directions of Russian President Medvedev, the Russian defence department sent another eight IL-76 military-use transport planes on May 24, delivering a total of more than 250 tons of disaster relief supplies, including 300 tents and approximately 3000 pieces of cold-resistant clothing. Two of the IL-76 transport planes then flew to the Sichuan earthquake zone on May 25. In support of the Chinese rescue effort, a Russian MiG-26 heavy-duty transport helicopter flew to Sichuan’s Deyang at 3pm on May 25. The helicopter is currently working with China’s only MiG-26 to transport heavy digging machines to the Tangjiashan quake lake.
Pakistan sent two C-130 transport planes on May 16, delivering blankets and tents to Chengdu. Another two Pakistani transport planes sent disaster relief supplies to Lanzhou on May 21. The Japanese Self-Defence Force is also considering whether to send disaster relief supplies to China’s earthquake disaster zone.
Majority of disaster relief aircraft are foreign made
During this earthquake, the PLA have taken up their obligations and been the main military force. Following the earthquake, IL-76 and Yun-8 transport planes from the PLA Air Force immediately flew equipment and goods to the disaster zone. For the disaster relief operations, the PLA deployed more than 100 MiG-17 and Black Hawk helicopters from the army aviation regiments of every military region. Meanwhile, the Navy’s aviation wing deployed eight medium-sized Z-8 helicopters that were made in China. These helicopters, laden with communication personnel, relief supplies and food, were the first to land in the earthquake zone. The helicopters created the communication between the earthquake zone and the outside world, and they also evacuated a large number of injured people. Military aircraft were also chiefly responsible for reconnaissance missions. According to reports, the PLA General Staff Department deployed a remote-sensing aircraft from a navy flight regiment to film the earthquake zone.
However, the majority of both foreign and PLA military aircraft were developed and built overseas. The PLA Air Force’s main strategic transport aircraft was the IL-76, which was built in Russia. The aircraft has a maximum commercial capacity of 40 tons and a maximum range of 7500km (4400km when carrying a full load). It has the highest capacity and the longest range of any PLA transport aircraft. The 15 paratroopers who parachuted into Wenchuan jumped from one of these airplanes.
The first helicopter to land in Wenchuan was an S-70 Black Hawk helicopter which was developed in the US. The very well-publicised MiG-17 helicopter is actually the main product of Russia’s MiG Design Bureau. The MiG-26 transport helicopter is a multi-role helicopter developed by the same bureau. The remote sensing aircraft was also built overseas.
Indigenous military aircraft are still behind the eight ball
The major role played by foreign aircraft demonstrates that indigenous aircraft are still behind the eight ball. Large transport aircraft are a good example. The biggest indigenous transport aircraft is currently the Yun-8. It has a maximum capacity of only 20 tons, so it has difficulty satisfying the requirements of strategic transport and heavy-duty airdrops. China also does not have any large helicopters that are suited to mountainous areas. This rescue campaign placed a premium on the highland capabilities of helicopters. The US Black Hawk helicopter and the modified version of the Russian MiG-17 helicopter were able to satisfy this requirement.
During an interview with the Global Times, Military expert Dai Xu said that looking at the PLA’s equipment and rapid response capabilities from the perspective of modern warfare, there is still a great gap between the PLA and advanced militaries. The gap is most noticeable when it comes to the number and quality of aircraft. Although 100 aircraft were deployed during the rescue effort, this was not enough to cover a massive area of 100,000 square kilometres and the large number of people who needed help. The large number of rescue workers who arrived in Chengdu via train and aircraft were unable to travel directly to the central region of the disaster zone because there weren’t enough helicopters. Instead they relied on their legs to form a ‘marching military’, thus restricting the development of rescue operations. All of the major air transport platforms used by the Chinese Military are US and Russian built. Therefore, Chinese are eagerly awaiting the birth of China’s own large aircraft.
Dai Xu believes that the Chinese Army already has the experience of establishing an aviation force. The question is how to ‘aviationalise’ the Army based on this experience. The Chinese helicopter industry is one of China’s weakest industries. However, this rescue effort demonstrates that more and better helicopters are needed for economic development, social support and the future development of defence.
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