00X/004 future nuclear CATOBAR carrier thread

[shiftenter]

So where are we now, hangar deck mostly completed?

Current construction status of CVN-19 looks comparable to this state of CVN-79 USS John F. Kennedy. The JFK’s launch (Dry Dock Flooding) was about a year and a half later from here, on 2019/10/29.
Of course, it won’t be exactly the same as in the USN, but if it’s a similar schedule, they could aim for a launch as early as within 2027 or around 2028. With a large number of hull blocks already prepared, I reckon we’ll get a decent glimpse of the ship’s silhouette by the end of the year. That said, there are aspects they’ve never tackled before, so it’s entirely possible that construction will proceed with even greater caution.

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[DaTang cavalry]

Two recent photos of 004 in Dalian. Note: The photos may have been restored.

 

[00CuriousObserver]

Two recent photos of 004 in Dalian. Note: The photos may have been restored.

View attachment 174430 View attachment 174431

Second photo is AI'd to oblivion. The first photo is also quite AI'd, probably AI "enhanced" but has hallucinated too much imo

 

[Confusionism]

Second photo is AI'd to oblivion. The first photo is also quite AI'd, probably AI "enhanced" but has hallucinated too much imo

AI Pro and AI Pro Max

 

[00CuriousObserver]

A safety line has been drawn, likely indicating where the flight deck will end. Source watermarks

 

[Antares545]

so whats the estimated length with this?

 

[Confusionism]

A safety line has been drawn, likely indicating where the flight deck will end. Source watermarks

There are similar warning lines along the crane tracks outside the dry dock as well; this is likely just a new safety measure to help crane operators more accurately determine the boundaries of movement. It probably has nothing to do with the size of the aircraft carrier.


Similar warning lines are also found on both sides of the new dry dock at the Zhonghua Shipyard on Changxing Island.

 

[HailingTX20]

Updated estimates based on the most recent images:

 

[Akame]

Updated estimates based on the most recent images:


View attachment 174499

Even the Ford aircraft carrier is 337 meters long. I think the Type-004 will be between 320-330 meters.

 

[Blitzo]

Updated estimates based on the most recent images:


View attachment 174499

An overestimate, and this really shouldn't be described as an estimate so casually.

Any estimate that tries to pass off 004 as being meaningfully larger than a Nimitz/Ford should be treated as needing a high burden of proof.


Edit: to clarify, 337m itself is fine, but i already predict people (lurkers from twitter, we know you are here) end up interpreting/"misreading" this as 370m in length. Vigilance towards overestimates (and also representations that can be "misread") is important for us all.