At Dawn We Slept...

Chinese Carrier Varyag

As the U.S. Navy battle force ships number continues to dip (currently 283, about half of the tally from the Reagan era) the Chinese are moving steadily forward in their effort to beef up their military. The photo above is of the Chinese aircraft carrier Varyag, formerly known as the Riga, a Soviet era Admiral Kuznetsov class carrier. After the breakup of the Soviet Union the ship ended up in the Ukraine and was later sold to China. The Chinese have been working on finishing the ship and it will be used as a training platform until the Chinese get their two indigenous conventional propulsion carriers built and, by 2015, their two planned nuclear powered carriers going.

The Chinese Air Force operates between 1300-1500 combat aircraft and has a small fleet of ballistic missile and attack subs.

The Chinese navy (known as PLAN) has completed an underground submarine base off Hainan Island.

Entrance to underground base.

Chinese Type 94 SSBN subs at dock. These docks have demagnetization facilities. (Prevents the attachment of magnetic mines to the subs)
New Series 54 Chinese Frigate
Chinese made J-10 Fighter.
Chinese Type 99 Main Battle Tank
CGI of Chinese H-8 Stealth bomber due to enter service in 2010. This bomber can hit targets in the U.S.

So, as our military continues to deteriorate, with programs like the F-22 and C-17 getting cut despite an alleged 4% increase in overall defense spending, our enemies are busy ramping up their military forces.