Thread by @zhao_dashuai

🚨Reforms to China's PLA🚨
Last week, the official PLA media put out a news:

The Sea Eagle Regiment of the PLA Navy Aviation, has been transferred to the Air force.

Kicking off the much needed process of standardization in the Chinese military.

Why is this significant?
1/🧵

Maturity of a branch of the military, is measured by how standardized it is

Standardization means certain degree of generalization of functions.

SO, the existence of land based naval aviation brigades, go against that idea, by having overlaps with the functions of the air force

This reform process, will transfer all the land based naval aviation units to the air force, standardizing training and equipment.

China's naval aviation were formed around its bombers.

During the Cold War, our navy were weak.
To protect our shores, naval aviation used bombers in anti-ship roles.

Missile Boat, airplane and submarine formed the basis of naval deterrence.

To protect the bombers, land based fighter units were transferred from the air force.

This outdated organization structure survived the 2016 reform, because it's more nuanced

Flying over land and over sea are 2 very different experience. Over land, you have many things to reference and orientate yourself.

long period of flying over water can cause disorientation

Where the pilot mix up the sky and water.

From the basic flying to tactics, naval aviation requires some degrees of differentiation.

HOWEVER, this division of labor caused a serious problem:
The bulk of the air force, weren't trained rigorously to conduct naval operations

The 2016 reform, pushed the air force to train with anti-ship missiles, and to integrate their system of systems with the navy's.

So this reform isn't about taking aviation away from the navy, it's giving the navy an entire air force through joint operations

Land based naval aviation will continue to exist, in the form of special aircrafts, like the Y-9Q anti-submarine aircraft

But the bulk of the naval aviation will be based around the air wings of the aircraft carriers.

Built around the J-35 and J-15B, J-15D J-15BS.

Modernization means standardization and generalization
Which creates multifunctional training and equipment.

Without land based aviation, the J-15B will mature into multirole fighter

With the air force trained in anti-ship role, the navy can push farther out into the open ocean