PLAAF: J-11 FIGHTER JETS IN MILITARY EXERCISES

A J-11 fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade of the PLA Western Theatre Command participated in an aerial combat training exercise in western China on February 13, 2018. At least three J-11 fighter aircraft were visible in the photographs accompanying the report.

PLAA - ARMY AVIATION ATTACK HELICOPTERS IN EXERCISE 

Attack helicopters attached to an army aviation brigade under the PLA 80th Group Army took part in an actual combat flight training exercise at a military airfield in Shandong Province on February 13, 2018. At least 3 attack helicopters were visible in the accompanying photographs. 

CHINA-PLA NAVY: UNDERSEA SURVEILLANCE NETWORK IN INDIAN OCEAN

The South China Morning Post on January 1, 2018 reported that China is setting up an undersea surveillance network for gathering oceanographic data in the area from the Western Pacific to the Indian Ocean. The network merges data collected by buoys, ships, satellites and unmanned water gliders for analysis and use by the PLA Navy. 

CHINA-PLA: AMS RESEARCHERS RECOMMEND CHINA INCREASE ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS STOCKPILE

Two researchers of the PLA Academy of Military Science (AMS) Li Xianrong and Yang Min argued in the PLA Daily of February in favour of China increasing its nuclear stockpile to deter the US threat. They said that since the end of the Cold War, the United States and Russia have not substantially dropped their nuclear deterrence despite drastically reducing their nuclear weapons. Asserting that nuclear power remains the strategic pillar of national defense and the cornerstone of the national security strategy, they argued “China must strengthen credible and reliable nuclear deterrence and counter-strike capabilities, and enhance strategic counterbalance capabilities in order to promote effective nuclear deterrence, support China’s great power status, and defend China’s national security.”