ANALYSIS – How big a threat? China's largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the type 003 Fujian, has begun sea trials, enabling Beijing to enhance its naval power in the Indo-Pacific region. Fortunately, it likely won't be combat ready for “several years.”
And even then, it is yet to be seen how well the Chinese can integrate their new carrier-based aircraft, such as the J-15, or J-35, fighter with the ships, for sustained operations. Also unknown is how well they can integrate the carriers with other navy ships in the Chinese fleet.
Still, this is a major development for China as it would be China's first carrier semi-comparable to similar U.S. warships. I wrote about this ship when it was first launched in June 2022.
The Fujian, entirely designed and built domestically, is larger and more advanced than the Shandong, commissioned in late 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998.
Both of these only had ski-jump type “short take-off, barrier-arrested recovery” (STOBAR) systems to launch aircraft.
The latest 1,037-foot-long Chinese carrier is fitted with three electromagnetic catapults. These are known as “catapult assisted take-off but arrested recovery” (CATOBAR) launch systems that will enable it to launch heavier and larger fixed-wing aircraft. This is similar to the advanced system used by the latest U.S. carrier, the 1,106-foot-long USS Gerald R. Ford.
The electromagnetic system enables the launch of heavier and larger fixed-wing aircraft. On U.S. carriers, this untested method replaces traditional steam-powered catapults, an evolutionary step the Chinese skipped, likely due to stealing U.S. technology.
But unlike America's fleet of nuclear-powered carriers, the Type 003 will be conventionally powered, not nuclear. This will limit its ocean-going capabilities but will still give it increased lethality in places such as the Taiwan Strait.
Compared to western carriers, notes the DC-based think tank, CSIS:
The Fujian is larger than its predecessors, which will enable it to support a more robust airwing. It displaces roughly 80,000 tonnes, compared to the Liaoning's 60,000 tonnes and the Shandong's 66,000. The Fujian is also considerably larger than France's Charles de Gaulle carrier (42,000 tonnes) and the United Kingdom's HMS Queen Elizabeth (65,000 tonnes), but smaller than the U.S. Navy's Ford-class carrier (100,000 tonnes).
Fujian will also be able to deploy up to 70 aircraft, including J-15 fighters and Z-9C anti-submarine helicopters, the Pentagon said in its annual report on Chinese military power last year. Later, China may deploy the more advanced stealth J-31 jet for its carrier.
The development of the Fujian is part of a build-up central to CHICOM leader, Xi Jinping's bid to make China the preeminent military power in the region.
Meanwhile, China hopes to make its next carrier nuclear powered. The Drive noted in late 2021 that:
Unconfirmed reports last year suggest that work on PLAN's next carrier — the Type 004 — was due to start soon, possibly at Dalian Shipyard in Liaoning. There are persistent rumors that this vessel will be both larger than its predecessors and will be nuclear powered, but other assessments suggest it will utilize the Type 003 design. Ultimately, however, it seems likely that nuclear power will be the PLAN's goal.
And 19fortyfive reports that:
Plans for a fourth carrier have been closely guarded, but according to Popular Science, the shipbuilder accidentally spilled some details. Leaked documents claim the carrier “will displace between ninety thousand and one hundred thousand tons and have electromagnetically assisted launch system (EMALS) catapults for getting aircrafts off the deck. It'll likely carry a large air wing of J-15 fighters, J-31 stealth fighters, KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft, anti-submarine warfare helicopters, and stealth attack drones.”
While many Western naval observers argue that these ships won't be combat-ready for many years, the fact that China is making great strides in its carrier force development should worry U.S. and allied defense planners. Recall that only 10 years ago, China had no carriers, and its fleet was vastly inferior to the West. That is no longer the case.
As Brent M. Eastwood notes regarding China's plans for its fourth carrier: “Beijing's goal is to introduce a nuclear-powered carrier – one with true blue-water capability that can project power and dominate the Indo-Pacific region.”
And they are steadily working their way to that end.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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