00X/004 future nuclear CATOBAR carrier thread

[Deino]

…
there is also rumor about ''dual-path for its carrier fleet (nuclear and conventional).

But that’s interesting… even if we hear such rumours since some time there is still nothing noted at Shanghai!

 

[plawolf]

No, it is on your part. Read this:

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In other words, some of the images shown in posts are hosted in imgur, and you live in the UK so you cannot access them.

Feeling the freedoms yet?

 

[Michael90]

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).

With China’s military I think it’s always better to be on the cautious/conservative side. Chinas main goal is still to protect her immediate interests in her neighborhood. Projecting power outside East Asia/SCS is something that might be thought of or changed in future.

 

[sunnymaxi]

With China’s military I think it’s always better to be on the cautious/conservative side. Chinas main goal is still to protect her immediate interests in her neighborhood. Projecting power outside East Asia/SCS is something that might be thought of or changed in future.

correct.. but they have already started to think outside their backyard. all incoming new weapons/platforms are offensive rather than defensive nature.

and the statement ''Carriers are extremely expensive'' that is not true for China if we see the depth of Chinese shipbuilding industry.

read this official announcement about 003 Fujian.

Crossposting this here as it has vast implications for this thread too.

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[#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.

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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!”

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[ACuriousPLAFan]

Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if the sister ship to Fujian (if said ship really does exist) has the island superstructure which is of similar design to the mockup island superstructure seen at Huangjiahu today.

The chat screenshot was posted by @lyman2003 on Weibo. However, given his rather infamous reputation, I'd suggest a hefty amount of caution on his takes on this matter.

A: "Is this officially-sanctioned custom-built model or you guys are just doing it for fun?"

B: "Officially-sanctioned"

A: "Ordered by the shipyard?"

B: "Yes, the shipyard is asking us (ship model factory) to make it"

B: "And there's even a 1-meter variant"

Unfortunately, low-quality photos are all that's available so far.

 

[Tomboy]

Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if the sister ship (or half-sister ship) to Fujian (if said ship really does exist) has the island superstructure which is of similar design to the mockup island superstructure seen at Huangjiahu today.

The chat screenshot was posted by @lyman2003 on Weibo. However, given his rather infamous reputation, I'd suggest a hefty amount of caution on his takes on this matter.







Unfortunately, low-quality photos are all that's available so far.

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That looks like a downgrade tho? Same flight deck but an even larger island? Maybe it is GT+IEP so you could have relatively optimally placed intake and exhaust without a full twin island design?

 

[mack8]

The question is, which shipyard are they talking about? Is it Dalian or Jiangnan? Are the model pictures above, if genuine, for the ship currently being built at Dalian, or for the ship we expect to be built at Jiangnan?

 

[sunnymaxi]

The question is, which shipyard are they talking about? Is it Dalian or Jiangnan? Are the model pictures above, if genuine, for the ship currently being built at Dalian, or for the ship we expect to be built at Jiangnan?

Dalian ship is different.

most likely 2nd sister ship of 003 but there is still nothing noted at Shanghai.

many PLA sources do talk about dual carrier strategy. Nuclear+conventional .. but again we don't have any significant evidence at JG shipyard.

 

[Nx4eu]

Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if the sister ship to Fujian (if said ship really does exist) has the island superstructure which is of similar design to the mockup island superstructure seen at Huangjiahu today.

The chat screenshot was posted by @lyman2003 on Weibo. However, given his rather infamous reputation, I'd suggest a hefty amount of caution on his takes on this matter.







Unfortunately, low-quality photos are all that's available so far.

View attachment 164137
View attachment 164140
View attachment 164141
View attachment 164142

I've had a running theory that this was the case due to soot buildup on the sensors on the main mast. Every time we saw Fujian return from sea trials, the sensors were dusted in soot, so much so they ended up just painting the white surface black, instead of cleaning it off completely. I think moving the funnel back would reduce usable deck space, but would make upkeep and maintenance easier.





Originally the mast was white.

 

[mack8]

Well we don't have a definite turnaround for Jiangnan because they only built Fujian to date, while Dalian took over 7 years between launching Shandong and seeing the first stages of construction for 004 (though inner hall subassembly construction must have started earlier than that maybe even couple of years), far too long imo as i touched about previously. Let's hope we're going to see something happening at Jiangnan in 2026.