THE RISING SEA DRAGON IN ASIA HOME PAGE

Any amount appreciated	THE RISING SEA DRAGON IN ASIA By Jeff Head - Last Update: January 24, 2013	Any amount appreciated
This site's mission is to document and analyse the rapid growth and modernization of the Red Chinese Navy, known as the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and put that growth and modernization into perspective as it relates to US vital interests in general, and as it relates particularly to the US Navy in the Western Pacific (WESPAC). In 2013, as a result of what happened between 2009 and 2013, the Chinese Navy, for the first time, is approaching the numeric number of warships (combatants) available to its Navy as the US Navy. This is because of continued rapid growth for the PLAN, and also the slow decommissioning rate of older PLAN vessels. There are actually 188 modern PLAN warships (w/technology less than 20 years old), compared to the 274 US vessels which are all up to modern standards. In addition, when looking at the workhorse combatants (Nuclear Subs, Guided missile destroyers and cruisers, the US has a tremdnous quntitative lead. Beyond that, please use the links above to navigate the site to areas of interest. The table below represents, in general terms, the relative growth of the overall fleets (USN and PLAN) over the last sixteen years for the major combatants listed and summarizes their percentage growth or shrinkage, and their relative sizes as compared to each other.

Major Naval Combatant relative growth chart USN vs. PLAN 1997-2013	US NAVY			PLAN
Ship Type/Description	1997	2009	2013	1997	2009	2013
SS - Diesel Electric subs (old Romeos not included)	00	00	00	22	54	58
SSN- Nuclear attack submarines	68	55	55	04	07	10
SSGN - Nuclear guided missile submarines	00	04	04	00	00	00
SSBN - Nuclear Ballistic missile submarines	18	14	14	01	04	06
LSD/T - Landing Ship Dock/Tank	50	42	47	24	43	95
LPD - Landing Platform Dock	12	09	10	00	02	04
LHA/D - Large Flat Deck Amphibious Assault Ships	11	12	12	00	00	00
FFG - Guided Missile Frigates	51	31	35	34	53	62
DD - Destroyers (US Spruance class)	31	00	00	00	00	00
DDG - Guided missile destroyers	26	59	64	16	28	32
CG - Guided missile cruisers	27	22	22	00	00	00
CGN - Nuclear powered guided missile cruisers	04	00	00	00	00	00
CV(N) Aircraft Carriers (including US nuclear powered)	14	11	11	00	01	01
TOTALS 1997, 2009, & 2013	312	259	274	101	192	268
RELATIVE GROWTH 1997-2009, & 2009-2013		-16.99%	5.47%		90.10%	28.36%
RELATIVE OVERALL NUMBERS COMPARED	308.91%	134.90%	102.24%	32.37%	74.13%	97.81%

LINKS OF INTEREST

Note 1: This year Amphib vessels down to the LCU 2000 (US) and the Type 79 II Yuhai (PRC) have been included, increasing the overall numbers for all years.
Note 2: Jeff Head has maintained the Rising Sea Dragon site for ten years at his cost. Any donation helps offset hosting & bandwidth costs for continued operations.

Jeff Head is an engineering consultant with many years experience in the power, defense, and computer industries. He currently works for the federal government helping maintain and protect regional infrastructure. He is a member of the U.S. Naval Institute, and is also the author of a self-published and best-selling series of military techno-thrillers called "Dragon's Fury: World War against America and the West," that projects a fictional third world war arising out of current events. You can learn more about that series and his other, non-fiction work, by clicking on the pictures of the novel covers below:

FINE BOOKS AUTHORED BY JEFF HEAD
Dragon's Fury - World War Against America and the West: Following great success in the War on Terror, politicians and analysts alike thought that future global conflict was impossible...but they were wrong. Journey into a possible future where Islamic terrorists sharpen their horrific skills & ally with Red China. In such a future, can the U.S. & western civilization survive?	The Stand at Klamath Falls: How rural western farmers and their supporters stood up to entrenched environmentalism, activist judges, and agencies of the Federal gGovernment in southwestern Oregon...and prevailed.

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