Rear Admiral Monty Khanna Archives - National Maritime Foundation

PLA NAVY AUGMENTS SHIP REPAIR FACILITIES AT YULIN NAVAL BASE, HAINAN

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – Issue No 16 dated 06 Feb 2026 The PLA Navy’s base at Hainan has been growing steadily. While the creation of berthing facilities for aircraft carriers, large combatants as well as nuclear…

THE PLA NAVY’S DEPERMING RANGES

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – Issue No 15 dated 27 Jan 2026 The PLA Navy gives considerable importance to mine warfare. This can be gauged not only from the large fleet of minesweepers that it operates, but also for…

WHY CHINA’S FOURTH AIRCRAFT CARRIER IS LIKELY TO BE NUCLEAR-POWERED

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – Issue No 14 dated 01 Jan 2026 China’s third aircraft carrier, Fujian was commissioned on 05 Nov 2025. She is a substantial departure from her earlier siblings. Gone is the ramp at the bows which…

CHINA’S ANTARCTIC STATIONS GROW UNABATED

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 13 dated 11 Apr 2025 China’s tryst with the Antarctic was led by Guo Kun, a graduate of the PLA Military Institute of Engineering, Harbin. While working at the State Oceanic…

CHINA ACCELERATES PAKISTAN'S HANGOR CLASS SUBMARINE PROGRAMME

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 12 dated 25 Mar 2025 In 2015, Pakistan signed a contract with China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. Ltd (CSOC), for eight S-26 Class submarines at an estimated…

CHINA’S MISSILE TEST RANGE IN THE TAKLAMAKAN DESERT

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 11 dated 17 Mar 2025 China’s development of long range conventional ballistic missiles, against static terrestrial as well as mobile maritime targets has been ongoing for…

CHINA’S DEEP SEA RESEARCH CAPABILITIES PART II - INSTITUTE OF DEEP-SEA SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, SANYA CITY

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 10 dated 10 Mar 2025 This brief is in follow up to Dabolim Diaries Issue No 9 which dealt with National Deep Sea Center (NDSC), Qingdao, Jiangsu Province. This issue studies…

CHINA’S DEEP SEA RESEARCH CAPABILITIES: PART I - NATIONAL DEEP SEA CENTER, QINGDAO

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 9 dated 04 Mar 2025 China’s deep sea exploration capabilities have grown over the years. It is now, arguably the nation with the largest investment in this field. Support…

CHINA’S WENCHANG SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTRE AND YUAN WANG ROCKET TRANSPORT SHIPS

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 8 dated 21 Feb 2025 China has been in the business of launching rockets for several decades with its first Space Launch Centre (SLC) having been established at Jiuquan, Gansu…

ARE WE SEEING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PLA NAVY’S NEW NUCLEAR SUBMARINE BASE?

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 7 dated 10 Feb 2025 The PLA Navy’s nuclear attack submarine fleet is growing exponentially with an estimated six to nine Type 09III-B SSNs having being launched since May…

YUCHI NAVAL BASE, GUZHEN BAY IN THE MIDST OF ANOTHER ROUND OF EXPANSION

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 6 dated 06 Feb 2025 Yuchi Naval Base (35o 43.’4 N, 119o 58’.9 E) in Guzhen Bay is located about 50 km South West of Qingdao. It is the primary base of the Northern Theatre…

GSI DELIVERS CHINA'S FIFTH ICEBREAKER IN RECORD TIME

GSI DELIVERS CHINA'S FIFTH ICEBREAKER IN RECORD TIME Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – Issue No 2 dated 08 Jan 2025 China’s fifth icebreaker, the Tan Suo San Hao (Exploration No 3) set sail from Guangzhou on 26 Dec 2024 and arrived at…