CV-18 Fujian/003 CATOBAR carrier thread

[weig2000]

It should not take until the mid 2030s for China to get a nuclear carrier.
Around the middle of this decade or slightly after that the technologies should be in place I think.

I wouldn't be surprised if work has long been going on on the nuclear drive train. Of the 20 to 15 years that are needed for this, 10 to 5 years should have passed by a long time ago.

This is work that takes place somewhere in China in closed factory halls, we don't see anything before that.

Only in the last 5 years of this process you need the hull in which you want to install everything.

There should be no doubt that for a strategic defense program such as carrier, the development of key technologies have long been underway for many years now. We know that's how China does strategic planning and development. China had in place a three-step career development plan; nuclear-powered carrier being the last step.

For nuclear-powered carrier, the appropriate nuclear reactor is really the only key/obstacle above beyond 003. We know China has very solid nuclear technologies and industry, which include both civilian and military applications: nuclear power, nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines. So the capability to provision PLAN with a working nuclear reactor including output level, safety and enrichment should not be a problem. I think China is setting the bar much higher than when the US started to development its nuclear powered carriers. For a close analog, think about when China develops its first CATOBAR conventional carrier 003, its benchmark was not Kitty Hawk, but Ford in many ways.

By the way, I read report in Chinese media over a decade ago by certain lead nuclear engineer that ACP100 was developed out of military reactor. May or may not be true, but does tell you that it's highly likely the reactor has been under development for quite some time now.

 

[Dylan Nguyen]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1481871595300089858

 

[Blitzo]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1481871595300089858

Please if posting pictures from Twitter, also attach the image as well so that a copy of it stays on the forum rather than just linking to the Tweet.

 

[subotai1]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1481871595300089858

If anyone thought that carrier was going to exit drydock anytime soon, this photo says that won't happen as much as anything does. Its 6+ months away.

 

[SanWenYu]

If anyone thought that carrier was going to exit drydock anytime soon, this photo says that won't happen as much as anything does. Its 6+ months away.

Care to elaborate?

While I agree with your conclusion of probably 6+ months away from leaving the drydock, I don't get your reasoning. In this photo, we can see that the ship bridge will need window glasses, furnitures and equipments. But they do not require the ship in drydock to install, right? What am I missing?

 

[longmarch]

As a matter of fact, you can start sea trial without window glasses

 

[Richard Santos]

As a matter of fact, you can start sea trial without window glasses

Lack of window glass says installation of electrical equipment have probably not begun in the spaces that are open to the elements. You can start sea trials, but you‘d be giving helm orders by shouting at tin cans connected by strings To a conning station somewhere else.

 

[Richard Santos]

If anyone thought that carrier was going to exit drydock anytime soon, this photo says that won't happen as much as anything does. Its 6+ months away.

The carrier could have exitEd the dry dock completely without any superstructure. Why would a few missing window panes in the structurally completed superstructure prevent it from existing now?

 

[lcloo]

Chinese New year is 2 weeks away. Official holiday may be just a week long but majority of people are taking month long vocations starting from next week. There won't be much work progress on 003 during this period.

By April or May, the fitting of aircraft lifts and catapults should be completed, then launch of 003 will depend on if dry dock #3 allocation had been scheduled for other ships or not.

 

[VESSEL]

There should be no doubt that for a strategic defense program such as carrier, the development of key technologies have long been underway for many years now. We know that's how China does strategic planning and development. China had in place a three-step career development plan; nuclear-powered carrier being the last step.

For nuclear-powered carrier, the appropriate nuclear reactor is really the only key/obstacle above beyond 003. We know China has very solid nuclear technologies and industry, which include both civilian and military applications: nuclear power, nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines. So the capability to provision PLAN with a working nuclear reactor including output level, safety and enrichment should not be a problem. I think China is setting the bar much higher than when the US started to development its nuclear powered carriers. For a close analog, think about when China develops its first CATOBAR conventional carrier 003, its benchmark was not Kitty Hawk, but Ford in many ways.

By the way, I read report in Chinese media over a decade ago by certain lead nuclear engineer that ACP100 was developed out of military reactor. May or may not be true, but does tell you that it's highly likely the reactor has been under development for quite some time now.

It should be pointed out that the ACP100 was developed based on certain technologies of the next-generation submarine reactor, and has little to do with the carrier.