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Who's is bigger? Russia or the good old US of A? Do we need to get out the measuring tape? Maybe we do, after China completes what looks to be the latest generation naval defense: the Type 002 aircraft carrier that is currently under construction in a floodable dry dock. Tinfoil hatters among us will be glad to hear that updates of the progress for the construction of this mighty vessel come from satellite imagery. Now that battleships are pretty much obsolete with maybe carriers to follow this latest addition to China's growing fleet may just be an expensive showboat.
Entry for the carrier on Wikipedia.
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China Builds New Type 002 Mega Carrier as the Age of Sea Power Wanes
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Can anyone remember when the times were not hard, and money not scarce?
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday May 15 2019, @02:33PM (8 children)
Other than the fact that the U.S. has 20 aircraft carriers, and China is just starting to build its second?
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 15 2019, @02:57PM (6 children)
Twenty? Would you care to name them? And, those in mothballs don't count - all you have to start with is the keel and the deck - and they may scrap the deck.
Heh - my own search offers a near hit at the top of the list: "There are 20 active aircraft carriers, 11 of which are American . . . "
Now, if you're counting marine landing craft with helos, you'll get closer to 20, but you don't launch fighters and bombers off those decks. Wasp size decks can't accomodate today's aircraft, unless you go with VTOL.
https://www.businessinsider.com/dod-chinas-constructing-a-new-more-capable-third-aircraft-carrier-2019-5 [businessinsider.com]
That second ship is finished, undergoing shakedown cruises. The third ship has been laid down, and construction progresses. Don't be surprised if ship number four is laid down in the next year or so. And, remember - China has a helluva lot of cheap labor!
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @03:17PM (3 children)
The whole point of the F-35B, and the AV-8B Harrier II before it.
It might not be legit to say that there are 20 active aircraft carriers in the world. That disqualifies small American ones, while counting foreign ones of the same size. Nearly all of the foreign ones are about the size of those little things that the Marines fly off of.
If we are fair, there are either more than 20 (by counting the small ones) or far less than 20 (counting only the big ones). Either there are only a few foreign ones, or the USA has about another dozen.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 15 2019, @03:27PM (2 children)
Good point. I didn't bother to compare the sizes and capabilities of the carriers.
As for the VTOL, isn't the UK the only nation actually doing VTOL? That was my impression, at any rate.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @04:14PM
With UAVs like the X-47B, it should be possible to operate from smaller decks with higher G forces.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday May 16 2019, @12:02AM
STOVL ... You are responding to a post mentioning the US marines and F-35B.
Any ship carrying those guys should qualify as an "aircraft carrier".
Well, technically, any ship carrying a helicopter is an aircraft carrier (and so is my car when the neighbor's kid has her drone). But we only count the one whose primary design goal is to launch aircraft. Flattops, essentially. The US has quite a few more than the 10 (11?) supercarriers.
(Score: 3, Informative) by tangomargarine on Wednesday May 15 2019, @07:26PM
Guess it's my own fault for trusting a website by the name of "foreignpolicy.com" (the last non-Wikipedia link in the summary) when they made a big graphic with "20" in it. There was a vague whiff of contempt towards China that I detected in the article, which I guess should've been a tip-off.
Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] lists 24, including the Wasp class of "landing helicopter docks."
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Informative) by tangomargarine on Wednesday May 15 2019, @07:33PM
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 15 2019, @03:08PM
Sorry, forgot to give you the link to the list of active US aircraft carriers - https://247wallst.com/special-report/2019/03/15/the-usa-only-has-11-active-aircraft-carriers/ [247wallst.com]