PLAN Aircraft Carrier programme...(Closed)

I'd hate this to turn it a China vs India topic, so let's try to keep from that.

taxiya said:

Lauching a ship like that for pure showing/pride is so un-Chinese. I would only imagine Chinese doing it because of desperation (need the same dry dock for 002 which is also on a tight schedule?, in war time?)

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Exactly.

But time will certainly solve the issue for us. The start of April is only 3 months away.

As it stands, we know this.

The Liaoning (001) is performing more and more aircraft flight operations at sea.

The second carrier (001A) is building and well along in its fabrication.
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The Chinese are building more and more J-15s to use on the Liaoning and then on 001A. They continue to put pilots through their land based facility.

China has made a huge investment in their carrier program and they are showing all of the signs of efficiently executing a plan to bring it forward and make it a reality.

I expect, in the 2020s, that we will ultimately see four PLAN carriers in service before the end of that decade, adding two of the 002 class (which will probably be two conventional CATOBAR carriers)...and probably a fifth already building at the end of that time (potentially their first nuclear carrier).

This, along with all of the other vessels to escort them, along with all of the other AOR, Amphibiuos assault vessels, FFGs, DDGs, etc, will make them the unquestioned second largest and most powerful Navy in the world....and they will have done it in basically a 25 year period.

That's pretty phenominal.

Jeff Head said:

As it stands, we know this.

The Liaoning is performing more and more aircraft flight operations at sea.

The second carrier is building and well along in its fabrication.
.
The Chinese are building more and more J-15s to use on the Liaoning and then on 001A. They continue to put pilots through their land based facility.

China has made a huge investment in their carrier program and they are showing all of the signs of efficiently executing a plan to bring it forward and make it a reality.

I expect, in the 2020s, that we will ultimately see four PLAN carriers in service before the end of that decade...and probably a fifth building.

THis, along with all of the other vessels to escort them, along with all of the other AOR, Amphibiuos assault vessels, FFGs, DDGs, etc, will make them the unquestioned second largest and most powerful Navy in the world....nd they will have done it in basically a 25 year period.

That's pretty phenominal.

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This is a fair assessment of the state-of-affairs of Chinese carrier program.

Let's all remember that China started from practical nothing to build and development their carrier program, without outside help. But they're building a foundation for very large carrier program, far more ambitious than all other countries outside the US, in long term. These have and will have implications on how they approach their carrier program.

There is no immediate need for a Chinese CVG in the short- to medium- term; in other words, in any contingencies that potentially involves China in next decade, China either does not need it or one or two CVGs do not make much of differences.

As such, the PLAN has clearly stated that Liaoning's main purposes are "training and scientific experiments." China's vision for their carrier program clearly is not like Russia's or France's, or for that matter that India's can or can afford for a long time to come; 001, 001A, and even 002 will only be the intermediate stage towards a truly global, blue-water navy. Let's be honest, the only navy that the PLAN tries to emulate is the USN.

Therefore, the Chinese carrier program will proceed in a very methodical way, to ensure they achieve their long-term goals timely and smoothly.

My predictions of the program, based on what we've seen so far of the program, the related subsystems development programs (nuclear reactor, cataplut etc.) and other naval programs:

001 will be fully operational before or in 2019, and 001A will be commissioned roughly the same time. 10.1.2019 is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.

002 will be conventional-powered CATOBAR carrier, commissioned around 2022 - 2023, roughly the time Xi Jinping's administration will be out of the office. I believe there will be another, same class carrier will be built (the 4th) with incremental improvements.

003 will be nuclear-powered CATOBAR carrier, likely to be China's Nimitz rather than its Ford class. The target commission date might be 2029, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, although there are more uncertainties since it's still far out in the future. I also believe that the 6th carrier in the same class with incremental improvements (e.g. EMALS) may also start to be built, likely before 2030.

So, all told, I think there will be five or six Chinese carriers commissioned or launched before 2030. I don't believe the Chinese has specific plans beyond 003 class, but I also don't think they will stop at 003.

Of course, in the end only time will tell. But it's fun to watch the progress and development of China's carrier program. I know I do.

Hmmm having driven past the Queen Elizabeth for years and seeing the modules I highly doubt 001A can hit the water in 3 months unless incomplete

Having said that China shipbuilding does have a amazing pace

Either way we are getting updates regularly on this unit so it will be great to watch

Those modules have been fitting fast, very fast, so fast that it's been break neck speed

Good co-ordination, well organised, synchronised and well rehearsed

I think adding these modules is almost just a formality and the cranes are just lifting like they have done it 100s of times

There's a lot to do and a lot to go but the pace is impressive

Thing with China is they can throw alot of manpower at these projects to get them done something a luxury others don't have

More landing and take off drills on the Liaoning

asif iqbal said:

Hmmm having driven past the Queen Elizabeth for years and seeing the modules I highly doubt 001A can hit the water in 3 months unless incomplete

Having said that China shipbuilding does have a amazing pace

Either way we are getting updates regularly on this unit so it will be great to watch

Those modules have been fitting fast, very fast, so fast that it's been break neck speed

Good co-ordination, well organised, synchronised and well rehearsed

I think adding these modules is almost just a formality and the cranes are just lifting like they have done it 100s of times

There's a lot to do and a lot to go but the pace is impressive

Thing with China is they can throw alot of manpower at these projects to get them done something a luxury others don't have

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You don't just need manpower but well trained manpower and a vast infrastructure. China can do it because it is not just building a couple of carriers of a size similar to the QE2's but a building system to continue producing carriers and all they need. The wages in Dalian and UK will not be very different but imagine UK building all that then firing the lot because two is all carriers UK can, barely, pay for.

China mainland MoD Spokesman officially confirms that the 2nd aircraft carrier is under construction now. And he refers Liao-Ning is the first one.

This one is more complete:



Brief translation:

记者：能不能再介绍一下关于第二艘航母的情况，比如它在哪里建造？它基本的技术和战术性能怎么样？包括配套的装备情况？

Reporter: Can you tell us more about the second carrier, like where is it being built? What is the basic technical and tactical specs? What are the supporting equipments?

杨宇军：据我所知，这艘航母完全由我国自主开展设计，正在大连进行建造，排水量约为5万吨级，采用常规动力装置；搭载国产歼-15飞机和其 它型号舰载机，固定翼飞机采用滑跃起飞方式；舰上将配有满足任务需要的各型设备。第二艘航母的设计和建造吸收了“辽宁舰”科研试验和训练的有益经验，在许 多方面将有新的改进和提高。今后关于这艘航母建设的相关进展情况，我们将陆续发布。

MoD Spokesman: As far as I know, this is an indigenously designed carrier currently under construction in Dalian, its displacement is in the 50k ton class and it has conventional power. It will carry J-15 and other shipborne aircraft, and uses ski-jump launching. It will be fully equipped to satisfy mission requirements. The design and building of this 2nd carrier is based on the experience learned from Liaoning, and there will be improvements in many areas. We will continue to disclose the progress of this carrier in the future.

Sister ships photoshopped in one picture.