PLAN Aircraft Carrier programme...(Closed)
- Thread starter bd popeye
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What kind of old ship could you mount an EM cat onto to test it with fighter launches? No, cats will be mounted on new carriers, or not at all. It has to be designed in from the very beginning. Even the Liaoning could not be mounted with EM cats at this point unless the PLAN is willing to spend perhaps hundreds of millions of yuan to tear up the flight deck and the 03 deck below, as well as tear up some of the carrier's internal spaces to install the machinery to power the cat. And steam cat? Forget about it. Boilers, piping, etc.; it would be essentially impossible.
The cat on the HMS Perseus was built on top of the flight deck rather than sunk into the flight deck. The Liaoning could have that kind of facelift I suppose, but that would end its days as any kind of useful warship. Or like I said, the PLAN could pay out its nose to retrofit a cat into the 03 deck like other carriers.
For whats its worth, I believe that the PLAN has been cautious so far and hence a catapult on 001A is unlikely unless they have been planning for it all the while. The news did say they have launched a J15 and so the video is probably an older demo. It is probably true that the catapult function is ready but the 001A is too advanced in construction to cater for this.
Yet
They have buy Varyag finished to 70 %, with also a big documentation.
Then right now China use, developpe former Russians things it is not Chinese material from the begining, completely done by them.
The CV 001a is also very close of Liaoning/Varyag class.
With the difficulty to make a catapult can be possible they get plans or a part of cats planned for the Ulyanovsk, same shipyard as Varyag...
I don't see any point using the steam catapults from the Ulyanovsk design, or any steam catapults for that matter.
EM catapults are the future, plus steam catapults are much higher risk for the Chinese.
With steam catapults, you have a lot more mechanical issues with generating enough steam (water+heat) from a powerplant, then have pipes all along the ship to transfer that steam to a storage accumulator, then releasing it to a mechanical catapult wire.
Trying to fix any issues once this is built would be a nightmare, as it would require ripping up much of the ship.
In comparison, with an EM catapult, standard electricity generators and the battery can be located anywhere in the ship. The electricity is then transferred along electricity cables which have no risk, and it would be relatively easy to replace/upgrade the EM rail on the carrier deck or the battery units.
EM catapults are the future, plus steam catapults are much higher risk for the Chinese.
With steam catapults, you have a lot more mechanical issues with generating enough steam (water+heat) from a powerplant, then have pipes all along the ship to transfer that steam to a storage accumulator, then releasing it to a mechanical catapult wire.
Trying to fix any issues once this is built would be a nightmare, as it would require ripping up much of the ship.
In comparison, with an EM catapult, standard electricity generators and the battery can be located anywhere in the ship. The electricity is then transferred along electricity cables which have no risk, and it would be relatively easy to replace/upgrade the EM rail on the carrier deck or the battery units.
Intrepid
Major
The USSR was not experienced in catapult-matters. The Chinese will adopt technic of other countries or develop technic of their own. They are already operating a , that will help to develop an EMALS cat.
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