Something that i wanted to ask for a while, i do understand that atm it's a bit unclear the building situation re CV-19 and CV-20, but going with the theory that Jiangnan will be building a repeat 003 (call it 003A) while Dalian looks like it's building the 004 CVN, would it not make more sense to actually have the ships built the other way around, ie the 003A at Dalian and the 004 CVN at Jiangnan? This is because the learning curve would be smoother, Dalian would have been building an 80,000 tons 3x EMALS 003A after building the 60,000 tons ski-jump Shandong, while Jiangnan would have followed the 80,000 tons Fujian with a 100,000 tons 004 CVN with likely 4x EMALS. As it is, Dalian would make a big jump straight to a CVN while Jiangnan would remain more or less technologically frozen until around 2030 by building a repeat Fujian, which doesn't seem like an optimum use of shipyard capabilities imo.
Also, why the big delay at Dalian in building their next carrier? I have been looking at the american Fords and the last two Nimitz, and it seems there is roughly a 6 years gap between launching successive american CVNs. Based on that timetable, and even assuming some delay due to Covid, Dalian should have already launched likely a 003A hull (and Fujian sistership) by 2024. Is there solid proof that the ship being built at Dalian now is a CVN, and not say an improved and perhaps a tad bigger 003A with 4x EMALS?
It may well be that both Dalian and Jiangnan will be building a 004 CVN each, which is the best outcome capability wise for PLAN, but meanwhile until we have clarity as to the CV-19 and CV-20 building schedule, just wanted to hear your input on my query above. Many thanks.
