Latest photo of the LNG ships
00X/004 future nuclear CATOBAR carrier thread
- Thread starter AETHER
- Start date
The mock up does look like beefed-up front island of 076A few more images of the carrier mockup.
Crossposting this here as it has vast implications for this thread too.
[#FujianCarrier will sail to the Indian and Atlantic Oceans#] #Carrier production will enter a mass-production phase#
With the Fujian formally commissioned, “Yuyuantantian” shared ten key points:
1. After commissioning, the Fujian’s must-go areas include the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the western Pacific.
2. The biggest change after commissioning is combat realism and readiness. #Fujian is the first step toward routine carrier deployments#
3. For the Liaoning and Shandong, the western Pacific counts as “blue-water/far seas,” but for the Fujian, it does not.
4. Building the Fujian’s “far-seas” defensive capacity requires work in the eastern Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic—for example waters near Guam, near Hawaii, or near Australia.
5. The PLAN has the right to navigate in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere under international law and practice; no country has the right to interfere.
6. Given the same deployment distance, the Fujian can stay on station longer thanks to its performance gains. These gains are tangible.
7. The Fujian’s commissioning is only the first step toward routine carrier deployments.
8. Our “001,” “002,” and “003” carriers are not serial numbers but model types. The 003 type can be considered a mature “platform.” Following our past practice for warship production, once a platform is mature, we will make optimizations and improvements and then enter a “mass-production” phase.
9. With the Fujian entering service, electromagnetic catapults + multiple carrier-borne aircraft types become the “standard configuration” for carriers. Meanwhile, the composition system for the carrier strike group’s escorts is also taking shape.
10. As the number of carriers increases, we will be able to maintain truly long-term, routine presence at specific points. At that time, what a “mobile sea fortress” means will have a concrete manifestation.
Yuyuantantian (玉渊谭天) is like an “alt account” for state media and is associated with the foreign ministry. The name combines 玉渊潭 (the park by CCTV’s former HQ) with 谭天 (“talk about the heavens”), i.e., “state media talking about the world.”
Topics that aren’t appropriate for a formal release often appear on these “alt accounts”. For example, it's not appropriate for the MFA to say outright “we’ll sail the new carrier to the Indian Ocean!”
[#FujianCarrier will sail to the Indian and Atlantic Oceans#] #Carrier production will enter a mass-production phase#
With the Fujian formally commissioned, “Yuyuantantian” shared ten key points:
1. After commissioning, the Fujian’s must-go areas include the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the western Pacific.
2. The biggest change after commissioning is combat realism and readiness. #Fujian is the first step toward routine carrier deployments#
3. For the Liaoning and Shandong, the western Pacific counts as “blue-water/far seas,” but for the Fujian, it does not.
4. Building the Fujian’s “far-seas” defensive capacity requires work in the eastern Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic—for example waters near Guam, near Hawaii, or near Australia.
5. The PLAN has the right to navigate in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere under international law and practice; no country has the right to interfere.
6. Given the same deployment distance, the Fujian can stay on station longer thanks to its performance gains. These gains are tangible.
7. The Fujian’s commissioning is only the first step toward routine carrier deployments.
8. Our “001,” “002,” and “003” carriers are not serial numbers but model types. The 003 type can be considered a mature “platform.” Following our past practice for warship production, once a platform is mature, we will make optimizations and improvements and then enter a “mass-production” phase.
9. With the Fujian entering service, electromagnetic catapults + multiple carrier-borne aircraft types become the “standard configuration” for carriers. Meanwhile, the composition system for the carrier strike group’s escorts is also taking shape.
10. As the number of carriers increases, we will be able to maintain truly long-term, routine presence at specific points. At that time, what a “mobile sea fortress” means will have a concrete manifestation.
Yuyuantantian (玉渊谭天) is like an “alt account” for state media and is associated with the foreign ministry. The name combines 玉渊潭 (the park by CCTV’s former HQ) with 谭天 (“talk about the heavens”), i.e., “state media talking about the world.”
Topics that aren’t appropriate for a formal release often appear on these “alt accounts”. For example, it's not appropriate for the MFA to say outright “we’ll sail the new carrier to the Indian Ocean!”
This is certainly an interesting statement.
On one hand (i.e. CCTV-7), the mention is that the future development pathway of Chinese CVs will be CATOBAR + nuclear-powered.
On the other hand (i.e. 玉渊谭天), the mention seems to suggest that the 003 will become a serial-production class of CVs. Given that 003 is COSAS, that would mean its class (or its derivatives) is likely also being conventionally-powered.
Sounds rather contrasting, no?
In the meantime, if the PLAN does decide on a dual-path forward for its carrier fleet (i.e. both nuclear and conventional), then it'd be better to discard COSAS (which powers the STOBAR twins and Fujian) in favor of CODLAG or IEPS propulsion systems in the subsequent and/or any serial-production conventionally-powered CVs.
2x-4x gas turbine engines (30MW - 40MW) + 6x-8x diesel engines (6MW - 8MW) in CODLAG/IEPS for a 50000-ton to 70000-ton CATOBAR carrier design sounds good in this case.
However, the question now becomes: What would the air wing for such carrier consists of? How would such carriers operate in the PLAN fleets? And what would be their roles and importance in the order of operations and battles of the PLAN?
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It's extremely interesting.
The way I read the news, at least from one like below, it sounds like nuclear-powered CATOBAR is a "must take" pathway, as opposed to being the only pathway to take.
So it's not mutually exclusive.
It's extremely interesting.
The way I read the news, at least from one like below, it sounds like nuclear-powered CATOBAR is a "must take" pathway, as opposed to being the only pathway to take.
So it's not mutually exclusive.
I don't necessarily see the statement about mass production of a refined model as being indicative of what long term nuclear Vs conventional carrier procurement scale will be.
Specifically, I don't see it as an indication that they will necessarily pursue mass production of a conventionally powered carrier type.
After all they describe 001, 002 and 003 as model types, and once a model is refined it can enter mass production... But it doesn't mean any of those models are (or will be) sufficiently refined for mass production.
All of which is to say, at this stage I don't think it changes our current consensus which is that a nuclear powered carrier is possibly under construction at DL and possibly a conventionally powered carrier will be expected at JN, but in the long term it all depends on the details of how the specific future carriers will mature (particularly in terms of propulsion).
Military expert Fu Qianshao shared his personal view on whether China's next aircraft carrier will be nuclear-powered. He stated that designing an aircraft carrier is extremely costly and requires extensive testing. Therefore, the next carrier is likely to remain conventionally powered, most probably an upgraded variant of the Type 003. A conventionally powered carrier fully meets the requirements for safeguarding national security in China's own backyard.
his opinion doesn't matter.
backyard and Defensive these two words no longer exist in current PRC strategy.
it is remain to be seen, whether Dalian ship is going to be nuclear or conventional.
there is also rumor about ''dual-path for its carrier fleet (nuclear and conventional).