China - PLA Navy set to build 10 aircraft carriers

To create its first blue-water navy, China plans to construct a total of 10 domestic aircraft carriers according to the Kanwa Defense Review, a Chinese-language military magazine operated by Andrei Chang also known as Pinkov, a military analyst from Canada.

 

 

After Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the US chief of naval operations, visited China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a refitted Soviet-era carrier purchased from Ukraine, the blueprint of the nation's first domestic carrier is nearly complete, according to Kanwa. Greenert said China is speeding up the construction of its second aircraft carrier and even predicted the vessel will enter service in the near future.
 

Richard Fisher, a military expert from US thinktank the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said China may have between four and five aircraft carriers in active service by 2030. This number may eventually increase to 10 in the next few decades. Greenert said, however, that the gap between US and Chinese aircraft carriers is still large. While a US carrier is capable of launching and retrieving 100 aircraft simultaneously, a Chinese aircraft carrier can only operate 10.

Before the PLA Navy is able to put its aircraft carriers into action, a great deal of work has to be done, Greenert said, adding however that China has achieved much in a very short period of time. Kanwa reported that China has acquired blueprints for a Soviet-era nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, also from Ukraine.

 

 

Quoting from the Singapore-based Straits Times, the article said that China's first domestically built aircraft carrier will be able to carry 50 J-15B carrier-based fighters and other aircraft such as the K-8 or the Z-8 early warning helicopters. In the future, between 25 and 27 stealth fighters such as the J-20 or the J-31 may serve aboard the Chinese aircraft carriers to replace the J-15, the PLA's current carrier-based fighter.
 

The article said China has great ambitions to build a navy which is stronger than the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Work well underway on China's two new aircraft carriers: Military Parade

The Moscow-based Military Parade has revealed more details on China's mysterious indigenous aircraft carriers currently under construction in Dalian and Shanghai.

In an report on Feb. 28, the Russian website said that the first vessel — known as 001A and designed by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation — is being built in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning province and will be equipped with a steam catapult. The new carrier is expected to have a greater tonnage than China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which was originally a Soviet-era Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier purchased from Ukraine in 1998.

The second vessel — known as 002 — under construction at Jiangnan shipyard on Shanghai's Changxing island, will be designed as China's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the report said. The size of the 002 will be similar to the USS Kitty Hawk with a tonnage of 61,351, and will be 5% larger than the 001A.

Both vessels have been designed based on blueprints of the unfinished Soviet Ulyanovsk-class aircraft carrier, according to Military Parade. The 002 will be fitted with four steam catapults, while the 001A will only have two. The 001A is likely to be named after the northeastern province of Shandong, following in line with the Liaoning, which was also named after a Chinese province.

The Shandong aircraft carrier may begin its service with the PLA Navy as soon as 2018, the report said, adding that China plans to build a total four aircraft carriers. Once completed, the PLA Navy would be able to establish four carrier battle groups to expand its maritime influence in the South China Sea and Western Pacific.

China's navy forms 1st carrier-borne jet force

A carrier-borne aviation force has been formally established as part of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, military sources said on Friday.

The forming of the force, approved by the Central Military Commission (CMC), demonstrates that the development of China's aircraft carriers has entered a new phase, the sources said.

The force comprises carrier-borne fighter jets, jet trainers and ship-borne helicopters that operate anti-submarine, rescue and vigilance tasks.

The sources said the carrier-borne force is vital to the strike force of China's aircraft carrier and a vanguard in transforming its navy. It will also play a key role in developing aircraft carrier groups and building a strong navy.

Wu Shengli, a member of the CMC and commander of the PLA Navy, attended the forming event on Friday.

The sources said the personnel of the force are more elite than the aviation forces within the PLA. To be able to fly fighter jets, the pilots should have flown at least five types of aircraft and their flight time must exceed 1,000 hours.

Rich experience in joint drills and major drills is also a prerequisite. The pilots also received training in courses like warship theory, nautical basics, and maritime meteorology.

Currently, China operates one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which was refitted based on an unfinished Russian-made carrier and delivered to the Navy on Sept. 25, 2012.

The carrier's original design allows it to carry about 30 fixed-wing aircraft.

The Liaoning has conducted successful take-off and landing tests of its carrier-borne J-15 fighters, the main strike force of China's carrier group.

China Seeks A Nimitz Moment

In China, government controlled media recently carried comments by a senior admiral in which the construction of a second carrier (as rumored, in a yard near Shanghai) was denied, but it was confirmed that a second, larger carrier was in the planning stage. It would make sense that as much experience as possible be gained from the first carrier (the Liaoning) first before finalizing the design of the second one.

 

The Liaoning is a 65,000 ton, 305 meter (999 feet) long ship that spent over a year on sea trials. During that time Liaoning was at sea for about four months. This was all in preparation for flight operations that began six months ago and were a success, although the Chinese built J15 (an Su-27 variant) jet fighter is still being tweaked as it participates in these carrier operations. Last year China confirmed that the Liaoning will primarily be a training carrier. The Chinese apparently plan to station up to 24 jet fighters and 26 helicopters on the Liaoning and use the ship to train pilots and other specialists for four or more additional carriers that are to be built. Meanwhile the Liaoning will also be staffed and equipped as a combat ship as well.

 

A new Chinese “larger carrier” means something like the recently decommissioned American USS Enterprise (CVN 65). This was the first nuclear powered carrier and it served as the prototype for the subsequent Nimitz class. The Enterprise was an expensive design, and only one was built (instead of a class of six). While a bit longer than the later Nimitz class, it was lighter (92,000 tons displacement, versus 100,000 tons). The Enterprise was commissioned in 1961, almost 40 years after the Langley entered service (1923). In the two decades after the Langley, the first U.S. carrier, went to sea, there were tremendous changes in carrier aviation. While the innovation slowed after World War II, major changes continued into the 1950s (jet aircraft, nuclear propelled carriers, SAMs). But in the ensuing half century there has been no major innovation in basic carrier design. This has not been a problem because the carriers have proven useful, at least for the U.S. Navy (the only fleet to use such large carriers) and no one else has maintained a force of these large carriers. Only the U.S. has a constant need to get air power to any corner of the planet in a hurry. More importantly, no navy has been able to give battle to the U.S. carrier force since 1945. The Soviets built new anti-carrier weapons and made plans to use them but that war never occurred. China is building carriers but is not committed to having a lot of them against the U.S. but to intimidate its neighbors. 

 

In any event, many naval planners worry that the next war will find carriers coming off second best to nuclear submarines and missiles. As in the past, we'll never know unless there's a war to test any new theories about how you fight aircraft carriers. Thus it makes sense for the Chinese to follow the American example and build clones of American carriers. In the last half century there has been a lot written about the Enterprise and the Nimitz class ships, along with lots of photos and videos as well. It would make sense to the Chinese to do an updated Nimitz for their first class of carriers because so much is known about them. 

 

Meanwhile, China has built a carrier pilot training program, along with schools for the many other specialists required to make a carrier work. It was rather surprising to Westerners that China managed to get jet aircraft operating from their new aircraft carrier (the Liaoning) just two months after the ship was commissioned (on September 25th). In large part that was because the Chinese put a lot of effort into preparation. Training of carrier pilots began nearly a decade earlier, but perhaps the smartest move the Chinese made was to arrange for Brazil to have its carrier sailors show the Chinese how it’s done. This was particularly important in the case of how the deck sailors on a carrier operate to get aircraft ready for takeoffs and how the air control specialists in the carrier “island” handle landings. While Russian carrier expertise was for sale, the Chinese wanted to learn how Western navies did this, since carrier operations were invented in the West a century ago. If the next class of Chinese carrier will be based on Western designs this would be the way to go. 

 

Four years ago Brazil agreed to this deal so that Chinese sailors could learn carrier operating skills on the Brazilian Navy's carrier, the "Sao Paulo." It was 13 years ago that Brazil bought the 32,000 ton French aircraft carrier Foch (which was still in service) for $12 million, updated it, and renamed it "Sao Paolo." The navy has not been able to get much cash out of the government to further refurbish the 51 year old Sao Polo, and apparently the Chinese deal will change that.

 

The 33,000 ton "Sao Paolo" was headed for decommissioning and has been used mainly to train carrier pilots when Bazil bought it. The "Sao Paolo" entered service in 2000, and the Brazilians retired the 20,000 ton "Minas Gerais", a World War II era (British) Colossus Class carrier, a year later (after 40 years of service). So the Brazilians have a long tradition of carrier operations and sufficient experienced carrier sailors to teach the Chinese some useful things. Brazil has long been the only South American nation to operate a carrier. The Sao Polo has a crew of 1,900 and was designed to carry 35 warplanes (smaller, older models like the A-4) and four helicopters. This load can vary depending on aircraft type.

 

Six years ago the Chinese Navy Air Force began training carrier fighter pilots (or "aviators" as they are known in the navy). In the past Chinese navy fighter pilots went to Chinese Air Force fighter training schools, and then transferred to navy flight training schools to learn how to perform their specialized (over open water) missions. Now, operating from carriers and performing landings and take-offs at sea has been added to the navy fighter pilot curriculum. The first class of carrier aviators has finished a four year training course at the Dalian Naval Academy. This included learning how to operate off a carrier, using a carrier deck mock-up on land. Landing on a moving ship at sea is another matter. The Russians warned China that it may take them a decade or more to develop the knowledge and skills needed to efficiently run an aircraft carrier. The Chinese are game and are slogging forward. The first landing and takeoff was apparently carried out in calm seas. It is a lot more difficult in rough weather (when the carrier is moving up and down and sideways a lot) and at night. The latter, called “night traps”, is considered the most difficult task any aviator can carry out, especially in rough weather

China's first training base for carrier-born aircrafts

Chinese naval officials working at a land-based training facility for carrier-capable jets have taken some time to explain how their training works. 

Pilots at the testing facility are practicing on China's home-developed J-15 fighter jets.

The jets have been designed specifically to take off and land on the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier.

But before the pilots get a chance to practice on the Liaoning, they have to train at the land-based facility, the exact location of which hasn't been officially disclosed.

Every pilot will have to pass a series of tests at the site before they'll be cleared for test training at sea.

The training center is set up to mimick what it will be like to land on the aircraft carrier, including landing using arresting cables.

Landing and taking off from an aircraft carrier is much different for a pilot than it is from a land-based airport.

As such, over 27-hundred flights took off and landed at the land-based test site before any flight testing first began on the Liaoning.

Tian Wei is a squadron leader at the training base. He says they've made up 10 different manuals to help the pilots through the nuances of learning how to operate their jets at sea.

"The follow-up training is very crucial. For example, a manufacturer makes a gun and shows you how to load the bullets and how to shoot. However, it requires a lot of practice if you want to hit the target, and hit it with accuracy. As such, we drafted a program and manual for our pilots to follow."

The training staff at the facility aren't taking any chances before letting the pilots test on the Liaoning.

The testing facility has been made more difficult to land on than it will be on the Liaoning.

There is only one arresting cable across the landing zone.

The aircraft carrier has 4 cables which the pilots can hit to allow them to stop.

Zhou Chunshan is the deputy commander of the training base.

"Land-based training is mostly focused on landing practice. Landing is the most difficult thing for a pilot to do on an aircraft carrier, so accuracy and consistency is the most important thing for our pilots. We record their landings and map how well they are progressing."

Authorities running the land-based training base say they are hoping to make improvements on the field to give their pilots more practice and training with simulated aircraft carrier take-offs as well.

Chinese Carrier Base

China's first aircraft carrier has docked at its new permanent base in the northern port of Qingdao, where it will be responsible for operations in waters surrounding Japan and the Korean Peninsula, media reports said Wednesday.

Speculation has swirled over where the ship, christened the Liaoning, would call home. It officially entered service on Sept. 25 amid a series of maritime disputes between China and its neighbors, particularly Japan, with which it is engaged in a tense standoff over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Qingdao is home to China's Northern Fleet, which is responsible for operations in the Yellow Sea, the Sea of Japan, parts of the East China Sea and the Bohai Gulf, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Beijing. Qingdao offers the country's longest breakwater to guard against catastrophic storms, and remains ice-free year-round.

The official Xinhua News Agency and Global Times newspaper reported that the carrier left its temporary base in the northeastern port of Dalian on Tuesday for the first sea trials of the year following a three-month refitting. Xinhua said weapons systems were tested during the voyage to Qingdao, but gave no details.

The Liaoning is a refurbished Soviet-era carrier purchased from Ukraine that China has described as an experimental model. China is believed to have plans to use its experience with the Liaoning to build four or more carriers of its own, one or more of which will be based at the southern island province of Sanya, which faces the South China Sea. China's claim to ownership of the entire South China Sea and its island groups is contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia.

While the Liaoning doesn't yet have an aircraft complement or battle group, the carrier program has been the most eye-catching element of China's comprehensive naval buildup, which also includes ballistic missile submarines, modern destroyers and a new generation of stealth missile frigates, the first of which was launched Monday at Shanghai's naval shipyard.

The navy conducted landings on the Liaoning in November using J-15 carrier fighters based on Russia's Su-33.

China approves funding for nuclear-powered ships

China has approved funding to develop core technologies for nuclear-powered ships amid speculation about Beijing's plans to build nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, one of the two dominant shipbuilders in China, said that one of its research institutions has received State approval and funding to formally begin research on core technologies and safety for nuclear-powered ships, state-run China Daily reported today.

"Compared with ships that use conventional propulsion, nuclear-powered ships can travel farther and are more reliable, factors that make the ships a reasonable choice for polar expeditionary missions," Du Wenlong, a senior researcher at the People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Science, told the Daily.

Many military followers link the announcement to widespread speculation that China may develop its own nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the Daily said.

"I think the research will definitely pave the way for our nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," it quoted a micro-blogger who uses the name Shangoufu.

China launched its first conventional aircraft carrier last year which is still undergoing trials.

Du said he considers it possible that the Chinese navy's next carrier will be equipped with nuclear propulsion.

"China already has the technology and industrial capability to develop and build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," he said.

"We already have nuclear-powered submarines, which require more sophisticated technologies and manufacturing capabilities, so developing a nuclear-powered carrier will not be difficult."

Li Jie, a professor at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said it is "more likely" that China will install nuclear reactors on its next aircraft carrier.
"We have command over most of the essential technologies of building a nuclear-powered carrier," he said, adding that some technical problems still need to be resolved.

The US navy has all but one of the world's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, with 10 in service after the USS Enterprise was deactivated in December.

The only operating aircraft carrier outside the US is France's Charles de Gaulle, also the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel.

China - 'We are ready to build more carriers'

Firm that equipped the Liaoning is set for wave of new orders

The company that played a key role in equipping China's first aircraft carrier is ready to build more "seagoing airbases", its chairman said.

"China is the only one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council not to have an aircraft carrier wholly developed by itself," said Hu Wenming, chairman of China State Shipbuilding Corp.

The company is a major designer and maker of the aeronautical support system for the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, which was refitted from the Soviet Union's Varyag warship.

The Liaoning was commissioned on Sept 25.

"We must enhance our independent weapons and equipment research and production capacity to match the country's clout, and independently build our own aircraft carriers," Hu told China Daily during the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China this month.

In his political report to the congress, President Hu Jintao said that it was a key strategy to build a strong national defense commensurate with China's international standing and to meet the needs of its security and development interests.

Hu Wenming, a congress delegate, took the helm of the world's second-largest shipbuilder in July. Hyundai Heavy Industries is the world's largest shipbuilder. He said his company had the responsibility and the capability to provide modern weaponry and equipment to the navy.

The 55-year-old declined to say when and how many carriers his company will build. "That hinges on the central authorities," he said.

But he suggested the country develop carriers using what he called catapult stroke technology on the flight deck. Planes on the Liaoning utilize a ski-jump takeoff, according to earlier reports by the Liberation Army Daily.

"It is very difficult for fixed-wing Air Early Warning aircraft to use a ski-jump takeoff, and on such a carrier you can only use helicopters for early warning, which actually compromises early warning," he said.

The Liaoning is more than 300 meters long and over 70 meters wide. Flight coordination at sea obviously differs fundamentally from land-based runways, Hu said.

He declined to say how many people were involved in the project to equip the carrier, but said a whole research and development institute under his company was engaged in it, and its workforce had doubled in the process.

It took about six years for researchers to develop and install sophisticated technology and key infrastructure needed for the flight deck, such as those to command the launch and recovery operations of carrier-borne aircraft, he added.

Both the software and hardware the company provided have passed simulation tests, and Hu said he is confident they will work in tandem with the aircraft and the carrier. 

Hu also said his company is ready to build the vessels for the carrier formation "at any time". Such a formation is generally made up of the carrier itself, destroyers, escorts, supply vessels and submarines, he said.

He revealed that China has recently embarked on its 13th patrol mission in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters. His company has built 95 percent of the vessels used for such missions over the past few years. The CEO said he believed the purpose of weapons and equipment development is to preserve international peace so that the country can secure economic and social growth.

China has developed satellites, nuclear and hydrogen bombs to safeguard national security, Hu said.

"Likewise, developing aircraft carriers and other new-generation armament for the navy is tailored for the country's defense and the need to protect marine rights and interests."

In building vessels for civilian use, amid a global downturn in shipbuilding, Hu said his company is changing course, focusing on the higher-end, value-added vessels and marine engineering facilities.

This currently accounts for only 35 percent of the company's turnover, while those of lower-end contribute to 65 percent.

Hu pledged to complete structural optimization and reverse the proportions by 2015, when his company is expected to become the world's largest shipbuilder.