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Satellite photos analyzed by IHS Janes show China has dramatically ramped up efforts to construct a second aircraft carrier—the first to be built indigenously there. While the new ship will likely not be a match for US aircraft carriers, it is important for a number of reasons, and representative of China's ambitions to be a naval superpower. The ship is in "advanced state of construction" in a Dailan shipyard, according to analysis of commercial satellite images by IHS Jane's. And China's goal is reportedly to launch the new carrier by this December (in time for Mao Zedong's 122nd birthday), and outfit it by the end of next year.
China's plans to build new carriers have not exactly been a secret. Construction of the ship started in March, and was confirmed to be a carrier by Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) officials speaking to Hong Kong Commercial Daily. The new carrier, called the Type 001A, will include technology currently only used aboard US carriers, according to PLA Navy senior officers: an electromagnetic catapult that will allow aircraft to be launched with greater fuel and weapons loads. That would put China into a very exclusive club.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by EQ on Tuesday October 06 2015, @02:59AM
No I didnt make the mistake of assuming other were stupid. Re: the japanese - the us Operational Doctrine was superior and resulted in the demise of the Imperial Navy's carrier force. And that was part of the development to which I was referring. Furthermore, modern carrier operations are far more complex than those of WW2. Modern carriers have far more to contend with. And you missed my point entirely: Operating a carrier force (as opposed to hybrids, or 1-2 carriers alone) successfully is far more difficult than building one - and to date, not one modern nation has done so successfully for any extended period of time, other than the US. Its difficult, expensive and uncharted territory for any nations attempting to do so which is one of the big reasons why nobody else has done so, and most have abandoned the efforts. There is an old sayin that goes something like this: the only thing more expensive than a first-rate navy is a second- rate navy. China is about to find out that the most expensive part of a carrier force is not building them, its operating them at a level of expertise where they are something other than targets for their opposition - large numbers are not all that helpfule when it comes to this sort of naval force - quality is necessary. The PLA has yet to prove they are capable of such operational excellence, and will likely find the path quite difficult, if not impossible..