Dec. 13, 2021 China’s SJ-21 Framed as Demonstrating Growing On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) Capabilities China launched its most recent practice satellite ShiJian-21 (SJ-21) into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) on October 24, 2021, Beijing time and Chinese state media indicated the satellite would “test and verify debris mitigation technology.” SJ-21 has since entered geosynchronous Earth
Dec. 10, 2021 Commentary on ADIZ issues and the PRC Dr. Mulvaney discusses increased flight activity by the PLA in the Taiwan ADIZ and in the South China Sea at the Habibie Center's Talking ASEAN Webinar on "Air Force Intrusions in the Indo-Pacific Airspace: Impacts on Regional Peace and Stability from ASEAN Perspective"A big thank you to Ken Allen
Dec. 8, 2021 ITOW: Dialectics and the Study of Grand Strategy- A Chinese View A little bit dated at this point, but still worth understanding how Chinese thinking evolves. Written in 2002 and released by the PLA's Academy of Military Sciences. Click here for the full PDF in English
Dec. 6, 2021 China's Spaceplane Program Spaceplanes are one area in which China seeks to mimic or compete with U.S. technology. Inspired by the U.S. Space Shuttle and more recently by the Boeing X-37B orbital test vehicle, China has several ongoing projects to develop reusable launch vehicles capable of flight in both air and space. While
Nov. 29, 2021 PLA Rocket Force Organization- Executive Summary While recent scholarship has gone a long way toward demystifying China’s missile force, it remains in many ways a poorly understood phenomenon, with an unusually high degree of censorship even by the already strict standards of the PLA. The following is a brief executive summary of a much longer
Nov. 22, 2021 ITOW: China National Nuclear Power appeals for bigger role Below is a partial translation of a speech by Lu Tiezhong, head of China National Nuclear Power Co., LTD., in the business of the development, investment, construction, operations, and management of nuclear power projects. The Shanghai-listed company is part of the larger China National Nuclear
Nov. 19, 2021 Competition with China: PLA Command and Control Part of CASI's "Competition With China" video series which helps Airmen better understand the strategic competition with China broadly, and takes a deep look at many of the military and security aspects of that competition. CASI uses source documents to research and report on China’s aerospace
Nov. 17, 2021 ITOW: Communiqué of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in Beijing from October 26 to 29, 2020. There were 198 members of the Central Committee and 166 alternate members of the Central Committee. Members of the Standing Committee of the Central Commission for
Nov. 17, 2021 ITOW: The CCP's 3rd ever "History" resolution Widely seen as General Secretary Xi Jinping's bid to add himself to the pantheon of the CCP, and lay the foundation for a 3rd term as General Secretary of the CCP, Chairman of the CCP's Central Military Commission, and President of China, the "Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist
Nov. 10, 2021 PLA Media’s First Reporting on Rapid Dragon On 2 November 2021 the media of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) published its first report concerning Rapid Dragon, the U.S. Air Force’s program to develop palletized munitions that can be airdropped from transport aircraft. The report likely indicates that the PLA negatively assesses the
Nov. 8, 2021 Space Domain Awareness as a Strategic Counterweight This paper examines the role of space domain awareness (SDA) as a strategic counterweight to potential adversary and competitor actions in space. It argues that awareness of the space environment is fundamental to maintaining and protecting U.S. interests in outer space. The U.S., however, has been
Nov. 5, 2021 Competition With China: PLA Overall Organization and Personnel This is the second in CASI's "Competition With China" video series. This new video series helps Airmen better understand the strategic competition with China broadly, and takes a deep look at many of the military and security aspects of that competition. CASI uses source documents to research and
Nov. 3, 2021 PLA Air Force Shifts Transition Training to the Schoolhouse On October 4 and 5, 2021, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reported that the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) has begun experimenting with training a brigade of new pilots to fly the J-10, a fourth-generation fighter, at the Shijiazhuang Flight Academy, one of its three flight academies. In the
Nov. 1, 2021 In Their Own Words- Services and Arms Application in Joint Operations Service and Arms Application in Joint Operations is one of the special series of reference texts written under the PLA Joint Operations Command Talent Cultivation Project of the former Shenyang Military Area Command. It discusses the roles and methods of all Services in integrated joint operations
Oct. 29, 2021 2021 CASI CHINA Town Hall with former DASD Chad Sbragia The China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) joined NCUSCR's Nationwide Live Event on China on Tues 19 October with its local portion via webinar with former DASD Sbragia. LtCol (Ret) Chad Sbragia served as the inaugural Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China until 2021. In this
Oct. 27, 2021 ITOW: Xi calls for breaking new ground in weaponry, equipment development The CCP are good communists, which means they are good planners. They have a plan, they propagate the plan, and they execute against that plan. We just need to listen to what they are saying. Here is an excerpt from Xinhua where General Secretary Xi Jinping lays out part of that planXi Jinping,
Oct. 27, 2021 ITOW: Ethical Norms for New Generation Artificial Intelligence The team at teh Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown is doing great work. They have translated this document, which is relevant to CASI and our friends. Please see their translation below.The following document, issued by a state AI governance committee, lays out ethical norms
Oct. 25, 2021 ITOW: PLA Terms and Concepts: Training, Exercises, & Education One of the most difficult aspects of any study on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is deciding on the best method to translate key PLA terms and concepts so that they make sense in a U.S. military context. Unfortunately, most Chinese military dictionaries and encyclopedias provide only a direct
Oct. 22, 2021 CASI webinar on PRC Counter-Space CASI hosted a webinar that looked at China's Counter-Space capabilities, plans, thinking, etc. with Brian Weeden, Christopher Stone, and Todd Harrison. You can watch the video at: https://tinyurl.com/CASI-Webinar-PRC-Counter-Space
Oct. 12, 2021 In Their Own Words: Lectures on Joint Campaign Information Operations Written by the PRC’s National Defense University (NDU) faculty, with assistance from the General Staff Operations Department and the Academy of Military Sciences, this text contains instructional material for NDU Commander’s Course, Staff Officer, and PLA-wide Information Operations Advanced Studies