The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Dirty Little Secrets
The Continued Adventures of the Varyag
by James Dunnigan
May 5, 2005
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
The mystery of the 67,000 ton Russian aircraft carrier Varyag, now owned by
China, continues. Last month, the Varyag was towed away from the pier, in the
Chinese naval base of Dalian, where it had been tied up for the last three
years. While there, it could be seen that work was being done on the ship. Most
notable was rebuilding of the carriers island, and the installation of some
electronics. The Vartag was only 80 percent complete when the Chinese purchased
it, and had no engines or rudder. It’s uncertain what work was done internally.
Dalian is a closely guarded base, with no reporters allowed.
China spent
over $50 million to buy the unfinished 67,000 ton Varyag, and tow it to the
Chinese naval base at Dalian. Originally, the Varyag was bought, for three times
its scrap value, by a Chinese front company (that turned out to be owned by the
Chinese navy). Their stated intention was to convert the ship into a floating
casino in Macao (near Hong Kong). This turned out to be a cover story, to get
Turkey to allow the Varyag to be towed out of the Black Sea. There’s an
international treaty that allows Turkey to control what warships pass through
the Turkish controlled entrance to the Black Sea, so the Chinese had to make it
look like the Varyag was no longer going to be used as a warship. The Chinese
then spent $30 million, and 627 days, to tow the engineless Varyag to a Chinese
naval base. The Varyag was originally designed to operate the Su-27 fighter
(which the Chinese have).
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