BEIJING (AP) – Beijing on Friday launched a next-generation aircraft carrier, the first of its kind designed and built in China, on a milestone as it seeks to expand the reach and power of its navy.
The Type 003 carrier named Fujian dropped its dry dock at a shipyard on the outskirts of Shanghai in the morning and was tied to a nearby dock, state media said.
State radio station CCTV showed Navy personnel gathered standing under the huge boat as water jets splashed over its deck, multicolored streamers flew, and colored smoke was released.
Equipped with the latest weapons technology and aircraft launch, the capabilities of the Type 003 are believed to rival those of Western carriers, as Beijing seeks to turn its navy, which is already the largest in the world, into a multi-carrier force.
Satellite images captured by Planet Labs PBC on Thursday and analyzed by The Associated Press showed the carrier in what appeared to be a completely flooded dry dock at Jiangnan Shipyard near Shanghai, ready for launch. It was covered with red flags, presumably in preparation for the launch ceremony.
“This is an important milestone for China’s military-industrial complex,” said Ridzwan Rahmat, a Singapore-based analyst at defense intelligence firm Janes.
“This shows that Chinese engineers are now able to manufacture the complete suite of surface fighters associated with modern naval warfare, including corvettes, frigates, destroyers, amphibious assault ships and now an aircraft carrier,” he said. “This ability to build a very complex warship from the ground up will inevitably result in various effects and benefits for the Chinese shipbuilding industry.”
The first aircraft carrier in China was a reused Soviet ship, and the second was built in China but based on a Soviet design. Both were built to use a launch method called “ski jumping” for planes, with a ramp at the end of the short runway to help planes take off.
The Type 003 uses a catapult launcher, which experts had said appears to be an electromagnetic-type system like the one originally developed by the U.S. Navy. China’s official Xinhua news agency confirmed that Fujian used the electromagnetic system in a report released Friday.
This system puts less stress on the aircraft than the old steam catapult launch systems, and the use of a catapult means that the ship will be able to launch a wider variety of aircraft, which is necessary for China to project naval. power to a higher rank, Rahmat said.
“These catapults allow deployed aircraft to carry a more extensive load of weapons in addition to external fuel depots,” Rahmat said.
“Once fully operational, the PLAN’s third carrier could also deploy a more complete set of aircraft associated with the carrier’s attack group operations, including delivery transport on board the carrier and airborne cells. ‘early warning and control, such as the KJ-600 “.
The People’s Liberation Army of China, or PLAN, has been modernizing for more than a decade to become a more “blue water” force capable of operating globally in instead of just staying closer to mainland China.
At the same time, the US has been increasing its focus on the region, including the South China Sea. The vast maritime region has been tense because six governments claim all or part of the strategically vital waterway, which travels about $ 5 trillion in world trade each year and is home to rich but rapidly declining fishing stocks and important deposits. oil and gas submarines.
China has been by far the most aggressive in asserting its claim over virtually the entire waterway, its characteristics and island resources.
The United States Navy has sailed warships over artificial islands that China built at sea and are equipped with runways and other military installations. China insists that its territory extends to these islands, while the US Navy says it is carrying out missions there to ensure the free flow of international trade.
In its report to the U.S. Congress last year on China’s military capabilities, the Department of Defense said the carrier development program was critical to the continued development of the Chinese navy in a global strength. ” gradually expanding its operational reach beyond East Asia to a sustained capacity to operate at ever longer intervals. “
“China’s planned aircraft carriers and follow-up carriers, once operational, will expand air defense coverage beyond the range of coastal and ship missile systems and allow for longer-range task force operations.” , said the Department of Defense.
In recent years, China has expanded its presence in the Indian Ocean, the Western Pacific and beyond, establishing its first overseas base over the past decade in the African Horn of Djibouti nation, where the US, Japan and others also maintain a military presence. . It has also recently signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands that many fear could give it an outpost in the South Pacific, and is working with Cambodia to expand a port facility that could give it a presence in the Gulf of Thailand. .
Xinhua reported that Fujian, which wears hull number 18, had a full-load displacement of 80,000 tons. In a March report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service, however, analysts said the satellite imagery suggested that the displacement of type 003 was about 100,000 tons, similar to that of aircraft carriers. the US Navy.
The PLAN currently has about 355 ships, including submarines, and the U.S. estimates that the force will increase to 420 ships in 2025 and 460 ships in 2030. Despite having the largest navy in the world numerically, the PLAN does not yet have capabilities. of the U.S. Navy and lags far behind in carriers.
The U.S. Navy is the world leader in aircraft carriers, with 11 nuclear-powered ships. It also has nine amphibious assault ships that can carry helicopters and vertical take-off fighter jets.
U.S. allies such as Britain and France also have their own aircraft carriers, and Japan has four “helicopter destroyers,” which are technically not aircraft carriers, but transport aircraft. Two are being converted to support short takeoff and vertical landing fighters.
The new carrier from China was named Fujian Province on the southeast coast of the country, following a tradition after christening its first two carriers with Liaoning and Shandong provinces.
The shipyard’s launch ceremony was presided over by Xu Qiliang, a member of the Communist Party’s Politburo and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission chaired by party chairman and leader Xi Jinping.
After Xu cut the ribbon for the launch, a bottle of champagne broke in the bow of the Fujian, Xinhua reported. Then the doors of the dry dock opened and the boat came out into the water and moored at its dock.
China’s development of the Type 003 carrier is part of a broader modernization of China’s military. As with its space program, China has proceeded with great caution in the development of aircraft carriers, seeking to apply only technologies that have been tested and perfected.
At the moment, it is not believed that China has the aircraft developed to fully realize the potential of the new carrier, Rahmat said.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. has started working on delivery transport on board the carrier. planes, he said.
Now that it is up and running, the carrier will have to be refurbished, which could take between two and six months. Then there will be port acceptance tests and sea tests, which will likely take another six months before engineers begin launching test loads with the catapult system.
“The first aircraft will only be launched from this carrier perhaps in late 2023 to 2024, and will fully declare full operational capacity closer to 2025,” he said.
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Jon Gambrell in Dubai, UAE and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report. The uprising was reported from Bangkok.