Beijing launched a new-generation aircraft carrier, the first such ship to be both designed and built in China, in a milestone as it seeks to extend the range and power of its navy.
The Type 003 carrier christened Fujian left its drydock at a shipyard outside Shanghai yesterday morning and tied up at a nearby pier, state media reports said.
State broadcaster CCTV showed assembled navy personnel standing beneath the massive ship as water jets sprayed over its deck, multi-coloured streamers flew and colourful smoke was released.
Equipped with the latest weaponry and aircraft-launch technology, the Type 003 ship’s capabilities are thought to rival those of Western carriers, as Beijing seeks to turn its navy, already the world’s largest, into a multi-carrier force.
Satellite imagery captured by Planet Labs PBC on Thursday and analysed by The Associated Press showed the carrier in what appeared to be a fully flooded drydock at the Jiangnan Shipyard, near Shanghai, ready for launch. It was draped with red bunting, 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 with the defence intelligence company Janes.
“This ability to construct a very complex warship from the ground up will inevitably result in various spin-offs and benefits for the Chinese shipbuilding industry.”
China’s first carrier was a repurposed Soviet ship, and its second was built in China but based upon a Soviet design. Both were built to employ a so-called “ski-jump” launch method for aircraft, with a ramp at the end of the short runway to help planes take off.
The Type 003 employs a catapult launch, which experts had said appears to be an electromagnetic-type system like one originally developed by the US Navy.
Xinhua News Agency confirmed the Fujian employed the electromagnetic system in a report on yesterday’s launch.
Such a system puts less stress on the aircraft than older steam-type catapult launch systems, and the use of a catapult means that the ship will be able to launch a broader variety of aircraft, which is necessary for China to be able to project naval power at a greater range, Ridzwan said.
“These catapults allow aircraft deployed to carry a more extensive load of weapons in addition to external fuel tanks,” Ridzwan said.
“Once it is fully operational, the PLAN’s third carrier would also be able to deploy a more complete suite of aircraft associated with carrier strike group operations including carrier onboard delivery transport and airborne early warning and control airframes, such as the KJ-600.”
China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, has been modernising for more than a decade to become more of a “blue water” force – one capable of operating globally rather than being restricted to remaining closer to the Chinese mainland.
Xinhua reported the Fujian, which carries the hull number 18, had a fully loaded displacement of 80,000 tonnes.
The new carrier was named after the Fujian province on the country’s southeastern coast, following a tradition after naming its first two carriers after the provinces of Liaoning and Shandong. — AP
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