Re: PRC President reviews PLAN Naval Air
The Visit to the Aircraft Carrier, Liaoning, CV-16
, is the PLAN's first aircraft carrier. It is a large angled-deck carrier displacing over 65,000 tons and capable of carrying more than 30 strike aircraft. The Chinese purchased this carrier from the Ukraine in the late 1990s. It was the sister ship of the Russian Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, but was not completed before the fall of the Soviet Union and ended up in Ukraine, unfinished after the collapse of the USSR.
China bought the carrier, had it towed to Dalian shipyards and then performed a detailed study of the vessel. Then,
with Chinese sensors, weapons systems, and ultimately with the Chinese J-15 strike fighters which they have developed and are now beginning to produce. They launched her on August 9, 2011, and commissioned her on September 24, 2012.
Upon arrivial at the aircraft carrier in Dalian, President Xi was greeted by a manning of the rails, and was then escorted onto the carrier deck, where an honor guard welcomed him aboard.
President Xi then made his way to the bridge of the Liiaoning, where he reviewed the staions there, listened as bridge operations were explained to him, and then accepted a plaque commemorating the Liaoning from the commanding officer on behalf of the entire crew. He then spoke to the crew.
After this, the party made its way onto the large flight deck of the Liaoning. The Liaoning is what is known as a STOBAR (Short Take Off, Baarier Assisted Recovery) Aircraft carrier. This means she uses a ski-jump to assist her aircraft to get into the air, and then uses trap wires and a barrier system to recover those aircraft as they land.
The jet blast deflector and the chocks to hold the aircraft in place as they power up for launch were demonstrated.
In addition, the optical landing light system was demonstrated which the pilots use to help them land in all weather conditions. Crew members discussed these operations during these demonstrations, and the President reviewed the various operations on the flight deck which are depicted and coordinated by different color suits that the personnel wear when working on the flight deck.
Finally, the entire entourage made its way to the hanger deck, using one of the two large elevatoirs which are designed to move the aircraft carrier's fighters and helicopters between the flight deck and the hanger where aircraft can be safely stored and worked on.
In the hanger, President Xi was shown the carriers Ouijah Board layout. This is a device that allows the deck traffic controllers to keep track of the aircraft on deck and avoid any traffic and movement problems.
In addition, the fire fighting team showed the President the equipment and fire suits they are trained on and use in the event of requiring to fight and extinguish any fires that ignite in the hanger or on deck.
All in all, it was a very productive day, and an exciting one for the whole crew of the Liaoning.
Summary
The visit by the President of the People's Republic of China specifically to the Naval Aviation Training Facilty and the Aircraft Carrier Liaoning, sends a strong message of support internally to the people fo China and their leaders, as well as to other nations. It punctuates the PRC's determination to develop and maintian a strong naval air arm as a part of their armed forces, and to develop, build, and deploy large aircraft carriers and their airwings in pursuit of PRC interests.
The PRC has already announced plans to build at least two, and probably more of their own indegenous carriers. From modules that have been seen under construction at Dalian, where the Liaoning was completed, it appears that they have already begun to do just that.
