PLAN Aircraft Carrier programme...(Closed)

AndrewS said:

In comparison, with an EM catapult, standard electricity generators and the battery can be located anywhere in the ship.

Click to expand...

You need than batteries .

EMALS for China remains surprising, arguable... US only country which build cats since easy 40 years and which is the specialist had difficulties for do it, so for China which is a rookie for these things possible have some doubts... or later later.

Naval aviation, carriers is ont only a question of money, economy etc... this is a knowledge experience and only USN do it to 100 % from the WWII.

Yet 2 years ago, some see, fans boys mainly... the Liaoning ready with J-15 and ofc not CAW have ready not before 2018 year which mase sense from the beginig and she is " only" a CATOBAR much more accessible...

EMALS is very expensive to build but after less for use than steam cats and preserve airframe.

That's what leapfrogging and second mover advantage are all about.

The argument is that both steam CAT and EMALS are a first for China, and EMALS is the future. Why bother with steam one.
I think the result is largely dependent on perceived threat and risk, basically timing issue. I would hope they opt to skip steam CAT, but this is very unlikely.

China is not just any other country anymore. If needed, China can pile up more money than US in certain area. It's a superpower in the making, like it or not. US still tries to deny China a seat at the top table at times, but China will make the case again and again. And this is not some nationalistic view, but the way it's going.

Of course R&D is not just about money. But China has proved its engineerin capabilities in many areas, though media in the West are still being dismissive. Even in lagging areas like engine and semi-conductor, it's catching up thus the continuous debate. I think the question is more about when rather than if.

longmarch said:

I think the result is largely dependent on perceived threat and risk, basically timing issue. I would hope they opt to skip steam CAT, but this is very unlikely.

Click to expand...

The Chnesen have enough funds to develop both systems. Eventually, they have to decide which system is to be installed on the first aircraft carrier. The later the decision is made, the more likely it is EMALS. Where steam catapults for the Chinese are also new territory.

An example is Galileo. When it started, no one would argue that Europe has better technology in this area than China did. But EU took China's money and doesn't want Chinese involvement. Result is China put Beidou in place earlier than Galileo.

Now with UK leaving EU, the contrast will keep growing.

I mentioned high-speed rail as an example before. It took decades for the technology to reach what it is today, but only took China a few years to catch up and lead.

And supercomputer. When US banned high-end CPU export to China merely a year ago, they must felt pretty good about it. Look at what they got now. And this is the area that US is supposed to have biggest leading advantage.

When one looks at commercial EM rail applications or maglev, one can see that China is ahead of the US.

From a technology risk point of view, EM rail poses fewer risks that steam, because it is easier to fix the inevitable mistakes.

What do you guys think the odds of nuclear power on the 002 are? I personally think it's a fair to good chance we will see one. This would provide the EM cats with plenty of power especially in conjunction with an IEP. It's not like the PLAN doesn't have experience with naval nuclear plants; the 091 through 094 subs have given them plenty of insight already. It's just a matter of scaling up the technology. And really they don't even have to scale up in the short to medium term if that tech isn't ready but they still want nuke carriers. The USN's first nuclear carrier (Enterprise) used 8 nuclear plants that shared the same ancestry as the ones used on their first nuclear submarine (Nautilus). So if PLAN wants a nuclear carrier, I'm fairly certain they could build one at this point.

Construction update! Sadly, no photographs this time.

On 29 June, the following modules were installed (red boxes):


Main addition being the aft section of the overhang.

And on 2 July, the following:


Main addition being the forward part of the overhang, end of angled flight deck.

There are five major modules that have yet to be added, pictured below:


On a side note, the Navy is reported to be very enthusiastic about electromagnetic catapults, though it is still uncertain if the Type 002 design will accomodate steam or EM catapults.

Iron Man said:

What do you guys think the odds of nuclear power on the 002 are? I personally think it's a fair to good chance we will see one. This would provide the EM cats with plenty of power especially in conjunction with an IEP. It's not like the PLAN doesn't have experience with naval nuclear plants; the 091 through 094 subs have given them plenty of insight already. It's just a matter of scaling up the technology. And really they don't even have to scale up in the short to medium term if that tech isn't ready but they still want nuke carriers. The USN's first nuclear carrier (Enterprise) used 8 nuclear plants that shared the same ancestry as the ones used on their first nuclear submarine (Nautilus). So if PLAN wants a nuclear carrier, I'm fairly certain they could build one at this point.

Click to expand...

They will want to have the aircraft carrier part well tested before they go to the expense of nuclear propulsion. Gas turbines and IEP will provide plenty of electrical power to allow high frequency aircraft launches when the experience is won.

My like button is again non responsive. It keeps happening again n againn