China is building a super aircraft carrier?

The Telegraph reported on March 3 that satellite images showed construction activity at China's Dalian shipyard was apparently underway on a nuclear-powered supercarrier.

Initial images suggest that China's new aircraft carrier could have a displacement of up to 120,000 tonnes, according to The Telegraph . The US supercarrier USS Gerald R Ford, considered the world's largest aircraft carrier today, has a displacement of 100,000 tonnes.

The People's Liberation Army Navy has a version of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) on its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which was launched in 2022 and is expected to enter service soon.

Trung Quốc đang phát triển siêu tàu sân bay để cạnh tranh với Mỹ? - Ảnh 1. — Fujian aircraft carrier in early 2024

It appears that the Type 004, the current designation for China’s new aircraft carrier, will have four catapults, one more than the Fujian and about the same as the USS Gerald R Ford. Images from the Dalian shipyard in northeastern China show tracks or grooves in the snow, apparently related to the new catapult system.

The Type 004 aircraft carrier can operate up to 100 aircraft, including J-15 multirole fighters, J-35 stealth fighters, KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft, helicopters and GJ-11 Sharp Sword drones.

Analysts say that while the images do not show actual shipbuilding, there are signs that China is moving forward with its ambitious plans.

Trung Quốc đang phát triển siêu tàu sân bay để cạnh tranh với Mỹ? - Ảnh 2. — Dalian shipyard in China, where new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could be developed

"We think this is testing equipment and layout for the upcoming Type 004 aircraft carrier," Michael Duitsman, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in the US, told NBC News. Duitsman also said it appeared that China's new aircraft carrier would resemble the USS Gerald R Ford.

There have been rumors over the past few years that China is preparing to build a Type 004 aircraft carrier. However, Beijing has refused to confirm any information and very little information has been made public.

J-15B deployed on Chinese aircraft carrier for the first time

China has not commented on the information about the development of the supercarrier from The Telegraph . However, in March 2024, Mr. Yuan Huazhi (Vien Hoa Tri), Political Commissar of the Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China, told the Global Times that there were no bottlenecks in China's aircraft carrier technology and the development process was going smoothly.

China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was commissioned in 2012 and the second, the Shandong, was launched in 2017. Both use the "ski-jump" method, which involves a ramp at the end of a short runway to propel aircraft into the air.

China's third and most advanced carrier to date is the Fujian, which was launched in 2022 and is being upgraded with an electromagnetic catapult, similar to the system used on US carriers. All three Chinese carriers are conventionally powered, unlike the Type 004, which experts believe will be powered by a nuclear reactor, given its size and power.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-quoc-dang-dong-sieu-tau-san-bay-185250304083527946.htm