【Military Second Area】Author: Golden Bomber

According to related reports from the South China Morning Post, on July 14, the Chinese Navy's 815-type electronic reconnaissance ship "Uranus," was found near the waters off Queensland, Australia. This warship did not act alone but was escorted by the 052D destroyer "Guilin." It is evident that its appearance was not accidental, but rather it was carrying out a set mission.

▲815A

According to reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Chinese Navy's electronic reconnaissance ship was clearly there to monitor the multinational joint "Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025" held in Australia. This exercise is part of a series of exercises co-led by Australia and the United States, held every two years. The exercise officially started on July 13 this year and will last until August 4.

In terms of scale, the 2025 exercise is the largest in the history of the series. The exercise locations are distributed along the east and west coasts of Australia, spanning over 6,500 kilometers, with participation from 19 countries, involving a total of 35,000 military personnel. The core participating countries are Australia and the United States, while the participating countries include 17 partner nations such as Japan, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada.

▲"Talisman Sabre 2025"

Among them, the United Kingdom was quite generous, directly dispatching the second ship of the "Queen Elizabeth" class aircraft carrier, "Princess of Wales," to participate. The purpose of the exercise, on the surface, is to enhance the joint operational capabilities of various countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including the ability to respond to potential regional conflicts. In plain words, it is targeting China.

The training subjects include amphibious operations, air strikes, ground maneuvers, electronic warfare, network defense, and others, and also integrate some of the latest naval marine tactics developed by the United States in recent years. Since it is targeting China, the absence of China's participation naturally makes it less fun. Therefore, it is completely reasonable for China to send an electronic reconnaissance ship to "take a look."

▲"Talisman Sabre 2025"

In fact, China's electronic reconnaissance ships have been regular participants in the "Talisman Sabre" series of exercises: As early as July 2017, when Australia held an exercise, a Chinese 815A ship went to the waters near Queensland. At that time, Australian media were very nervous, saying that the "spy ship" could collect electronic intelligence and even crack the data links used by the Australian military during the exercise. The Australian Joint Operations Command sent relevant ships and aircraft to monitor, but found that the Chinese vessel remained in international waters without crossing the border, and had no choice but to watch.

Two years later, in 2019, the "Talisman Sabre" military exercise saw the arrival of the Chinese 815A again. This time, the Australian media appeared more calm, saying that the actions of the Chinese reconnaissance ship were obviously "expected." And they changed their tone of alarm from two years ago, emphasizing that its activities complied with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In 2021, the Chinese "Zhi Shu Xing" (Celestial Pole) ship arrived as scheduled, continuing to collect radar and communication data information from the exercises held by Australia, the UK, Canada, Japan, and the US. A year later in 2022, the 815A reconnaissance ship "Neptune" traveled alone to the east coast of Australia, sailing from Darwin all the way to the vicinity of New South Wales, indicating that China's electronic reconnaissance ships have already established a routine trend of reconnaissance and deployment around the waters of Australia.

▲South China Morning Post report

Owing to various factors, the "Talisman Sabre" exercise was interrupted for a period of time, until 2025 it finally resumed, so the Chinese vessels came again. Just like in previous times, the Chinese electronic reconnaissance ships only collected information using their own equipment, and all the areas where they stayed and operated were in international waters, far away from the exercise designated area. In the mouths of the West, the Chinese electronic reconnaissance ships are called "spy ships."

But the behavior of the "spy ship" is also reasonable and legal, so the West can only watch, cannot act rashly, otherwise it would be considered provocative.

▲815 Series

The 815 series is a type of ship developed by China since the 1990s for intelligence collection. The Chinese Navy has equipped nine of them, divided into several models such as 815, 815A, and 815G. In terms of quantity, China is the second country in the world with the most electronic reconnaissance ships after the United States. In terms of quality, its performance is also world-class.

The basic 815 model is the first generation of the series. The lead ship "Polaris" was commissioned in 1999. After 2000, with the development of electronic technology, advanced electronic equipment and antenna systems were added to the basic model. The "Uranus" (ship number 793), "Neptune" (ship number 792), and "Zhi Shu Xing" (ship number 797) are all 815A models. The 815G is the latest derivative model, further optimizing sensors and data processing capabilities.

▲"Princess of Wales" arrives in Australia

As a medium-sized ship with a full load displacement of more than 6,000 tons, the 815 series carries a large amount of electronic equipment and a team of 100-150 experts. Many of them are responsible for operating the equipment on board, while others analyze the content obtained by the ship's equipment. The multi-band antenna array on board covers high frequency HF, very high frequency VHF, ultra-high frequency UHF, and microwave, each with its own use. The ship can intercept radar signals and characteristics of various weapons systems, and has good reconnaissance and collection capabilities for satellite communications, ship-to-ship communications, aircraft-to-aircraft communications, cross-platform communications, and related data links.

All of these are things used in foreign military exercises. Once obtained by our electronic reconnaissance ships, our electronic experts can take them back for detailed analysis of their signal characteristics, then develop specialized jamming equipment, and one day be able to counteract them. Because ship-based electronic reconnaissance equipment is usually large in size, the detection range for most targets can exceed 700 kilometers, ensuring that it can "spy from a distance" without having to get too close.

▲The 052D destroyer escorting the 815A

Regarding the activities of the 815 series electronic reconnaissance ships, Western countries have long been accustomed to it. Notably, this year the United Kingdom dispatched the "Princess of Wales" to the Asia-Pacific, originally showing off might. However, after the "Shandong" aircraft carrier went to Hong Kong for public viewing at the beginning of July, it decided not to enter the South China Sea, but instead took a detour to Australia. Originally thinking that it would not provoke China, the British aircraft carrier definitely made a mistake this time — you don't come doesn't mean I won't go.

The 815 electronic reconnaissance ship went all the way to Australia, tracking from the Chinese coast, not wanting to miss the British aircraft carrier. Moreover, this time it was not acting alone, but even had a warship escort. These pieces of information show that the Chinese Navy now has enough confidence and strength to protect China's overseas interests and security.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7526887988791132706/

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