PLAN Catapult Development Thread, News, etc.

[PanAsian]

From a strategic requirements point of view, there isn't a huge rush to getting any more aircraft carriers into service, given that they don't add much capability towards addressing China's core interests which are all in the immediate area.

There are already 2 STOBARs which would be enough for low-intensity scenarios.

However it also depends on how quickly how many F-35s go into service with the US, Japan, and SK and how many of their LHDs basically become CVs. As well as whether additional foreign navies become more active around China's periphery.

As that happens I would expect the PLA to add 001As to maintain some sort of parity while development or deployment of a supercarrier continues at its own pace.

 

[Intrepid]

There are already 2 STOBARs which would be enough for low-intensity scenarios.

It seems to me that these two ships are a preparation for a much more powerful carrier force.

 

[Iron Man]

From a strategic requirements point of view, there isn't a huge rush to getting any more aircraft carriers into service, given that they don't add much capability towards addressing China's core interests which are all in the immediate area.

There are already 2 STOBARs which would be enough for low-intensity scenarios.

I'm pretty sure none of us know what PLAN's strategic requirements are, either in the short term or the medium term.

 

[Hendrik_2000]

The "except" part isn't exactly all that easy, especially a higher density in a smaller volume. I'm not saying it can't be done by current Chinese technology, merely that a submarine reactor may be a more expedient carrier solution until the larger naval reactor is finished developing if the PLAN wants one sooner. As nobody on this forum knows the present state of PLAN naval reactor technology or its timetable regarding nuclearized carriers (if there is even to be one), there is nothing to suggest this isn't an available option.

Well did you read it.The next paragraph explain in plain language how to achieve those exception from civilian reactor
using highly enriched uranium which is easy to achieve It just degree of enrichment ,

We might not know that activity of military nuclear program but once a while they did release snippet of the progress
Like the 3rd generation of natural circulation reactor

You can also inferred it from their civilian nuclear program. Right now China is the center of gravity in nuclear program.

They have planned to built 30 nuclear reactor. They have license the most advanced nuclear reactor design. They have 3 or 4 design of their own development of socalled 4th generation nuclear reactor
In fact Bill gates sources the research of their environment friendly reactor to Chinese firm

China is self sufficient in nuclear reactor component They built everything themselves using their own material. Nuclear industry is well developed in China starting from the military program 60 years ago
The very origin of Chinese nuclear program is building reactor for submarine by themselves the Russian refused to help them

There is large ecosystem of private company that built nuclear component after decades of working with the who is who in nuclear industry, Framatome now AREVA, Westinghouse, AECL, GE and Russian company

 

[AndrewS]

It seems to me that these two ships are a preparation for a much more powerful carrier force.

Agreed, but that is for a more distant future.

 

[AndrewS]

I'm pretty sure none of us know what PLAN's strategic requirements are, either in the short term or the medium term.

We can actually make an educated guess on the development of the PLAN, given the likely strategic requirements and balance of military power versus the resources and technology/experience likely to be available.

 

[Iron Man]

Well did you read it.The next paragraph explain in plain language how to achieve those exception from civilian reactor
using highly enriched uranium which is easy to achieve It just degree of enrichment ,

We might not know that activity of military nuclear program but once a while they did release snippet of the progress
Like the 3rd generation of natural circulation reactor

You can also inferred it from their civilian nuclear program. Right now China is the center of gravity in nuclear program.

They have planned to built 30 nuclear reactor. They have license the most advanced nuclear reactor design. They have 3 or 4 design of their own development of socalled 4th generation nuclear reactor
In fact Bill gates sources the research of their environment friendly reactor to Chinese firm

China is self sufficient in nuclear reactor component They built everything themselves using their own material. Nuclear industry is well developed in China starting from the military program 60 years ago
The very origin of Chinese nuclear program is building reactor for submarine by themselves the Russian refused to help them

There is large ecosystem of private company that built nuclear component after decades of working with the who is who in nuclear industry, Framatome now AREVA, Westinghouse, AECL, GE and Russian company

I'm not sure what you're trying to argue here. It is pretty obvious by now that carrier #3 (CV-18) will not be a nuclear carrier based on posts from the big shrimps. This means one of two things: 1) PLAN does NOT have any nuclear carrier ambitions, or 2) PLAN DOES have nuclear carrier ambitions, but it is clearly not as easy to develop large (carrier-sized) naval reactors as you are trying to imply. Sure, China is the epicenter of world nuclear activity; I wouldn't expect any less even just based on its sheer size alone. This doesn't mean that China is at the forefront of all types of nuclear technology, or even that its naval reactor technology has caught up to that of the US and France.

 

[Iron Man]

We can actually make an educated guess on the development of the PLAN, given the likely strategic requirements and balance of military power versus the resources and technology/experience likely to be available.

I don't remember you predicting 3-4 055s under simultaneous construction. In fact I don't remember anyone making this prediction, and yet it is happening right now. So while you may make guesses on the development of the PLAN and its "strategic requirements", I'm pretty sure they are just guesses, just like the rest of ours, without any qualifiers as to how educated they are or are not.

 

[latenlazy]

I'm not sure what you're trying to argue here. It is pretty obvious by now that carrier #3 (CV-18) will not be a nuclear carrier based on posts from the big shrimps. This means one of two things: 1) PLAN does NOT have any nuclear carrier ambitions, or 2) PLAN DOES have nuclear carrier ambitions, but it is clearly not as easy to develop large (carrier-sized) naval reactors as you are trying to imply. Sure, China is the epicenter of world nuclear activity; I wouldn't expect any less even just based on its sheer size alone. This doesn't mean that China is at the forefront of all types of nuclear technology, or even that its naval reactor technology has caught up to that of the US and France.

I think they're talking about Type 003, not carrier #3.

 

[latenlazy]

I don't remember you predicting 3-4 055s under simultaneous construction. In fact I don't remember anyone making this prediction, and yet it is happening right now. So while you may make guesses on the development of the PLAN and its "strategic requirements", I'm pretty sure they are just guesses, just like the rest of ours, without any qualifiers as to how educated they are or are not.

Maybe people didn't predict 4 under construction simultaneously, but many did predict a first batch of hulls might be somewhere between 4-8. Many also predicted years in advance that the PLAN might procure something along the lines of the Type 055. AndrewS is saying we can get an approximate idea of what the PLAN might be thinking. It would be a distortion to take what he said to mean that we can make confidently precise predictions about everything.