China’s J-35 Carrier Fighter Appears; Step To ‘Most Powerful Navy’?
Posted: July 26, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aircraft carrier, carrier-borne fighter jet, China, J-35, PLAN, stealth warplane 24 Comments“The J-35 may well represent another significant milestone in the Chinese long-term pursuit of a blue-water carrier based naval aviation capability”, said retired US naval intelligence officer, Capt. James Fanell.
By REUBEN JOHNSON
on July 01, 2021 at 11:41 AM
Image J-31
Chinese J-31 stealth fighter
KYIV: China’s Navy has taken another step toward eliminating the last advantages that the US Navy enjoys, in the form of the new, stealthy carrier fighter aircraft known as the J-35.
What has caught the attention of US defense policy makers is the J-35’s appearance at the aircraft carrier building in Wuhan, Hubei Province that performs research for PLAN naval aviation operations. The photo is the latest of images taken of the Wuhan facility over the years by Chinese aviation enthusiasts and then posted anonymously on various PRC-based websites. Many times these photos are deleted as they constitute violations of Beijing’s pathologically secretive and pervasive military security guidelines.
“The J-35 may well represent another significant milestone in the Chinese long-term pursuit of a blue-water carrier based naval aviation capability”, said retired US naval intelligence officer, Capt. James Fanell. Looking back over a long career as the most-senior retired analyst in charge of PLAN assessments, he says “we are seeing the goals of [now retired] Admiral Wu Shengli coming to fruition as the PLAN continues its transformation into the most powerful navy on the planet.”
Navy photo
F-35C (image omitted)
The Shenyang Aircraft Corporation aircraft has existed as an actual flying platform since 2011, after which it progressed through three major design iterations and several designators (F-60/J-31/FC-31), until appearing as the J-35 aircraft with a re-configured wing and an elongated fuselage optimised for a lower radar cross section (RCS).
The J-35’s first public appearance was as the J-31 at the 2014 Air Show China expo. This model was fitted with two underpowered Russian-made engines originally developed for the Mikoyan MiG-29. But even this earlier configuration already appeared to be a twin-engine adaptation of the US Lockheed Martin F-35’s design.
The J-35’s emergence is not just a major step in the Chinese industry’s march to create a modern carrier force, but is a two-generation leap beyond the PLAN’s initial choice for a carrier-capable fighter aircraft, another SAC-built aircraft, the J-15.
The J-15 was not an indigenous Chinese development but a reverse-engineered copy of the Russian Sukhoi Su-33 carrier fighter. It also draws on an early pre-production Su-27K prototype that SAC acquired from a naval aviation research centre in then-Ukraine controlled Crimea, which was used to develop many detailed aspects of the Chinese variant.
As a 1980s design made almost entirely of conventional metal alloys, the J-15 also suffers from being the heaviest carrier-based fighter in the world. (The weight factor was one reason the Russians declared their Su-33 design obsolete in 2015.) With an unassisted, non-catapult take-off, with a full fuel load, it is limited to only two tonnes of its 12-tonnes weapon capacity — two CASIC YJ-83K ASMs and two older-generation PL-8 infrared-guided AAMs.
A PLA military source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the J-15 is so overweight that, “even the US Navy’s new generation C13-2 steam catapult launch engines that are installed on Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, would struggle to launch the aircraft efficiently.”
This has prompted SAC to pour significant resources into the J-35, which is 22,000 lbs. lighter and carries its missiles in an internal weapons bay to maintain the aircraft’s stealth signature.
More and Better Carriers
The other half of the equation is the general trend that the PLAN is becoming a progressively larger force than the US Navy. The increasing gap in numbers has been tempered by the reality that US naval aviation is still “the great equalizer,” as one NATO-nation intelligence officer and PLA specialist explained. (The greater tonnage and lethality of the US fleet is also an important factor.)
“The US nuclear-powered carriers — and the nuclear submarines as well — are what gives the US Navy this technological edge and long-range strike capability. For years now, that has compensated for the increasing numerical mismatch between the two navies,” he continued.
Numbers-wise the PLAN currently constitutes 400 warships and submarines. According to a recent US Naval War College assessment the PLAN – will increase to a combined force of more than 530. The pace of the PRC’s shipbuilding industry is nothing short of relentless. Between 2015 and 2017 alone, China produced nearly 400,000 tonnes of naval vessels, roughly double the output of US shipyards within the same period.
In comparison to the rapidly modernising PLAN, today’s US Navy is sometimes described as shrinking and over-extended; as of March it operated 296 warships and submarines.
But US defence policymakers’ anxiety moved up several notches when the PLAN’s first aircraft carrier, the CV-16 Liaoning, was commissioned in 2012 and declared combat-ready four years later.
The Liaoning Type 001A, sister ship to the Russian Navy’s (VMF) Admiral Kuznetsov, is more than a generation behind any US carrier. It relies on a ski-ramp flight deck, instead of the catapults installed on all US-design carriers.
A second, Type 002 carrier, the CV-17 Shandong is a near-clone of the Liaoning. Commissioned in late 2019, it is undergoing its last set of sea trials. Western analysts say both these two carriers are really meant to be training platforms and will be replaced by a next generation of carriers that use catapults, designated the Type 003.
The Type 003 will be a traditional “flattop” design. With a displacement of 80,000 tonnes, it is 15,000 tonnes heavier than the CV-16 and CV-17 models It is designed to be fitted with an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) – a next-generation catapult that the US Navy is only now just fielding.
The Chinese catapults, which will not have a nuclear reactor to power them, is reportedly backed up by integrated propulsion system (IPS) technology. This is designed to create significant increases in fuel efficiency for the ship’s conventional power plant.
The question mark is just how proficient Chinese designers are with EMALS technology. It is an innovation that the US Navy has sunk billions into and is based on decades of experience with launching and retrieving aircraft back aboard deck. In late 2017 in an interview with China Central Television, Rear Adm. Yin Zhuo, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Equipment Research Centre, said China had done “hundreds of [land-based] tests” using EMALS with J-15 fighters in the past few years.
A US naval air systems contractor who spoke to Breaking Defense said tests on land and actual use at sea are still “two different realities. The US Navy’s large body of [naval aviation] know-how has greatly informed the design parametres and operational concepts for an EMALS catapult. The Chinese are now attempting to jump feet first into the EMALS-generation without any operational experience, without having passed through the generation of steam-powered catapults. which may prove to be a major technical challenge.”
Given these two Chinese military innovations seemingly just over the horizon, there are those calling for a re-assessment of the relations between the US military and its Chinese counterpart.
“The reason we keep being ‘surprised’ by developments such as J-35 and these new carriers is the complete lack of transparency from the Chinese side – despite the long-running emphasis by the US on military-to-military engagements with Beijing that is supposed to create just that,” said Fanell. “It is a near one-way street, as we receive almost no openness in return for the insight we are providing the PLAN. It’s well past time to re-evaluate this practice of unaccountable arrangement.”
Source: Breaking Defense “China’s J-35 Carrier Fighter Appears; Step To ‘Most Powerful Navy’?”
Note: This is Breaking Defense’ article I post here for readers’ information. It does not mean whether I agree or disagree with the article’s views.
For China Conventional Carriers with Floating Island Better than Nuclear Carriers
Posted: June 24, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aircraft carrier, China, conventional carrier, floating artificial island, nuclear carrier 3 CommentsSCMP’s article “China’s aircraft carrier No 4 will not catch up with US Navy’s nuclear-powered giants, analysts say” yesterday says that as China has no nuclear technology to make its aircraft carrier nuclear powered, its next carrier will be conventionally powered so that in US-China competition, China still lags behind the US in aircraft carrier technology.
That is certainly speculation but well founded on common sense: The US has decades of experience in making nuclear-powered large aircraft carriers with catapult. China as a much later new comer certainly has difficulties to make its large carriers nuclear powered. It certainly takes time for China to master the technology of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
In fact, China has to conduct a series of tests on its new carrier to be sure that it has indeed mastered all the technology for building and operating a large conventionally powered aircraft carrier with catapult.
However SCMP’s comparison is based on US false belief. The US believes that China wants to catch up and surpass it in order to replace it as the only hegemon in the world; therefore, it regards China as a competitor. China, however, wants the US to be a win-win cooperation partner as China has no intention to compete with the US nor to replace it as the sole world hegemon. The US needs its aircraft carrier to maintain its world hegemony. As the US may invade a remote country such as Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan for a long time (note: its troops invaded Afghanistan for 2 decades), it certainly needs its carrier to be able to remain near the country it invades or interferes with internal affairs and far away from home for a long time. As it acts like world police with the need to go fast to threaten other countries and bring them to their knees, its carriers have to move to another country as quickly as possible without going back home for supplies of fuel, weapons, food, etc. Only nuclear powered carriers are capable of attaining its goal of aggression and intimidation as a world hegemon.
China has no such needs, why should China follow US steps and make its carriers nuclear powered?
Therefore, unlike the US, which wants its aircraft carrier battle groups to invade or interfere in the internal affairs of other countries however remote from US homeland, China is building aircraft carriers to protect its interests abroad, first of all its trade lifelines through the India and Pacific oceans; second, its investment abroad; and third and gradually growing in importance, the exploitation of fish, energy, mineral and tourism resources on the open sea.
Conventional carrier is cheaper and quicker to build and easier to maintain and dismantle. It works well if accompanied with an artificial floating island. One such island with two carrier battle groups is as capable as five carrier battle groups. On one such island, there can be three airstrips and three hundred warplanes of a large varieties including not only fighter jets but also other necessary warplanes such as bombers, AEW&C warplanes, fueling tanks, drones etc. In addition, the island may have the most advanced air and marine defense systems. Together with two aircraft carrier battle groups one island may have the fire power equal to five nuclear carriers.
Such an island may provide all the supplies needed by the two conventional aircraft carrier battle groups including their conventional submarines. As a result, crews of the two carrier battle groups need not stay on ships for a very long period of time but may take rest on the island and the officers may have their families living on the island.
US nuclear aircraft carrier battle groups cost a lot to maintain even in peace time but China’s artificial islands can bring income from fishery, fish farming, mineral and energy resources exploitation and tourism, Such income may not only subsidize the costs to maintain the islands and aircraft carrier battle groups but also bring some return to the investment in building the islands.
In India Ocean, one artificial island between Kyaukphyu, Myanmar and Hambantota, Sri Lanka is enough as the shipping route from Sri Lanka wiil be protected by Pakistani and Iranian navies.
In the Pacific, there shall be four artificial islands with eight conventional carrier battle groups. The distance between two islands shall be about 2,500 kilometers so that one island shall be in charge of the security of a radius of about 1,250 kilometers easily covered by the air forces on the island and its two defense carrier battle groups. The distance between Taiwan and the first artificial island may be longer.
From that we see the strategic importance of Taiwan for China. I believe when China is strong enough, it will certainly reunify with Taiwan by force or otherwise.
Therefore, if the Fujian proves successful, with China’s huge shipbuilding capacity, China may make 4 copies of it and two floating artificial islands at a stretch and thus be able to have a fleet of carriers and islands within a decade in the Pacific to defend its trade lifelines to Latin America and the Caribbean. By that time China’s trade with those areas will grow very large and much resources will have been discovered in the Pacific to make it worthwhile to build those four islands and their eight conventional aircraft carriers.
If so, the question of whether China is able to build a nuclear aircraft carrier is indeed irrelevant.
This is merely my speculation. I do not know whether China has such a plan.
Comment by Chan Kai Yee on SCMP’s article, full text of which can be found at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3182842/chinas-aircraft-carrier-no-4-will-not-catch-us-navys-nuclear.
Leviathan: China’s new navy
Posted: June 20, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aircraft carrier, artificial floating island, China, EMALS, naval development, PLAN, the Fujian 8 CommentsWith its new aircraft carrier, the Fujian, China is leapfrogging current military technologies to challenge the might of the US navy.
Members of China’s navy stand on the deck of a ship at a military port on May 18, 2022, in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China [VCG/VCG via Getty Images] (image omitted)
By Alex Gatopoulos
Published On 19 Jun 2022
19 Jun 2022
The Chinese navy, under instruction from President Xi Jinping, has undergone a modernisation and expansion programme that is nothing short of spectacular. Friday’s launch of its third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, for sea trials underscores just how far it has come, and how fast.
The first two carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, were ex-Soviet designs; the Liaoning initially bought for scrap from Ukraine and refitted. While antiquated, they have been used to train new generations of naval officers and pilots in the complex science and art of aircraft carrier operations.
This new design of aircraft carrier is a quantum leap in capabilities from these older models and will greatly enhance China’s combat power.
Image launch Fujian
The launching ceremony of China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, on June 17, 2022, in Shanghai, China [Photo by Li Tang/VCG via Getty Images]
Larger, more powerful
The Fujian is colossal: at 316m (1,037ft) long, it will weigh around 100,000 tonnes when fully loaded. Its electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) will accelerate jets taking off at speed, assisting their take-off with such force the aircraft will be able to carry more fuel and weapons, therefore extending the reach and size of the punch the aircraft carrier packs. Early warning aircraft will be able to take off and land more easily, enhancing the carrier’s ability to spot its enemies from further away.
EMALS is also able to launch more aircraft at a greater rate, getting more jets into the air faster than its opponents using older technologies – and is vital for defending itself against incoming attacks.
This latest feature gives the Fujian a significant edge, as only the United States’ latest Ford-class of aircraft carrier is equipped with it. France is slowly developing a similar system and India is examining its feasibility, but outside the US, only China employs this system. Its navy has yet to operate a nuclear-powered carrier, as the US has done for decades. The Fujian is conventionally powered but predictions are that the next one to be built by China will be nuclear-powered. (This reblogger’s note: Not necessarily. China has no need to follow US steps. Conventional carrier is cheaper, quicker to build and easier to maintain and dismantle. It works well if accompanied with an artificial floating island. One such island with two carrier battle groups is as capable as five carrier battle groups. Such an island may provide all the supplies needed by the conventional battle groups including conventional submarines. As a result, crews of the group need not stay on ships for a very long period of time but may take rest on the island and the officers may have their families living on the island.)
The Fujian has shown the world that China has leapfrogged over several current military technologies, like steam catapult-launching, rejecting them for cutting-edge designs that will set up China’s carrier fleet for years to come. (This reblogger’s note: If the Fujian proves successful, with China’s huge shipbuilding capacity, China may make 4 copies of it and two floating artificial islands at a stretch and thus be able to have a fleet of carriers and islands within a decade.)
Diplomacy by other means
The goal for China’s navy is to have six carrier strike groups operating by 2035 (This reblogger’s note: as mentioned in my note above, China may have a fleet more powerful than America’s within a decade), allowing China to project levels of combat power unprecedented in its history wherever it chooses. Aircraft carriers do not operate alone and form the nucleus of a fleet that surrounds the carrier, protecting this mobile airbase while also contributing massive amounts of firepower that can devastate targets on the ocean or hundreds of kilometres inland.
Their large compliments of long-range land-attack missiles, together with the carrier’s air wing, provide state-of-the-art firepower, giving China a potent weapon at its disposal. An aircraft carrier strike group’s prime role is to project power far beyond its national borders. This can be done using actual combat power, or force can be implied, the proximity of an air carrier strike group to a crisis zone acting as a diplomatic barometer. Either way, they have been effective tools of statecraft for decades.
China’s naval expansion isn’t just about the number of warships. The navy’s infrastructure, vital if ships are to be berthed, maintained and refuelled, has slowly been built up over the last decade. A network of port facilities and dry docks have been constructed across the Indian Ocean with a growing naval fleet in mind.
The Chinese naval base at Djibouti has been revamped, its piers extended to 340m (1,115ft) and now able to accommodate its growing fleet of aircraft carriers. Situated at the mouth of the Red Sea near the Horn of Africa, the base is rapidly becoming a logistical supply hub for Chinese naval vessels in one of the world’s most strategically significant waterways. As China’s economy becomes truly global in scale, its naval fleets are fast moving away from protecting China’s shoreline to long-range force projection. This has the US increasingly concerned as China negotiates base rights in Equatorial Guinea on Africa’s west coast with the aim of building a naval presence in the Atlantic Ocean. (This reblogger’s note: The artificial floating islands mentioned above may serve as bases satisfactorily so that naval bases in other countries are not indispensable.)
But wait, there’s more
Significant as China’s naval ambitions are, this is just the beginning. The Fujian is a transition model, perfecting a powerful new technology, while Chinese naval propulsion specialists and designers are looking to take the next technological leap. Its fourth carrier is now likely to use nuclear propulsion. This will allow it to sail without refuelling or refitting for 20 years. It may however delay the carrier’s construction and eventual induction into the Chinese navy as new technologies, especially nuclear ones, are worked and trialled with great care. (This reblogger’s note: Therefore, better conventional.)
The design process has already started on this future carrier and construction will begin in the near future at Dalian shipyard. It is expected to be at least the same size as the Fujian if not larger. Its expanded air wing will likely fly the latest FC-31 Gyrfalcon naval stealth jets, early warning aircraft and drones.
Unmanned technology presents a significant challenge, but is tantalising as it may give the country that develops it first a significant strategic advantage.
The unmanned navy
While the US works on new robot ships, China is not far behind as it looks to develop and expand its unmanned networked fleet. It has launched the world’s first “drone carrier”, controlled by AI systems. It will be able to deploy underwater, surface and aerial drones, working to ensure that no adversary can approach it without being detected. While it is just a test bed for this new generation of automated naval ship, more advanced “carriers” are being designed as unmanned technologies are integrated into the manned Chinese navy.
An advanced version of the Type 076 Helicopter carrier is being developed with the aim of launching combat drones from its flight deck. While this is a capability being researched by other navies, the Chinese variant will likely carry a naval version of the stealthy combat drone the GJ-11 “Sharp Sword”, which is able to fly at close to the speed of sound, undetected by its enemies.
At over 11m (36ft) long and with a range of 4,000km (2,485 miles), it can carry over two tonnes of precision-guided munitions in its internal weapons bays – and is designed to penetrate deep into hostile territory and destroy high-value targets.
Image GJ-11
A Gongji-11 (GJ-11) unmanned stealth combat drone on display at the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition on September 28, 2021, in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province [Photo by Yang Suping/VCG via Getty Images]
Powerful unmanned mini-destroyers are also being designed, with advanced radars, torpedo tubes and the latest surface-to-air missiles. They are able to pack a powerful punch, especially when networked together, and analysts consider this a rival to the US’s unmanned surface vehicle (USV), the Sea Hunter.
China is competing neck and neck with the US in unmanned weapons systems. There is a fierce debate within Chinese military circles about where to put its significant yet finite resources to the greatest effect. Many argue for funding to go to the large, visible ships like aircraft carriers and cruisers. However, there is a growing voice within the People’s Liberation Army that argues for smaller, smarter, well-armed vessels. While nothing in themselves, when networked together in a coordinated “swarm” fleet of distributed firepower, they become overwhelming. Like an army of ants, several might be destroyed, but acting together, they eventually overpower a much larger force, and China is at the forefront of this vital technology.
This kind of strategic planning is crucial if China is to win the next war fought on the ocean. Future conflicts will not be won with today’s weapons, but with tomorrow’s. The country that invents these new systems and trains realistically on how to use them to their best advantage, will prevail.
With the launch of the Fujian, the naval arms race in the Pacific Ocean has just picked up the pace and shows no sign of slowing down. China’s production of new and advanced warships is growing by the day. This new leviathan now aims to challenge the might of the US navy, not content to be a regional player but a superpower in its own right.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA “Leviathan: China’s new navy”
Note: This is AL JAZEERA’s article I post here for readers’ information. It does not mean whether I agree or disagree with the article’s views. I have provide some of my views in this reblogger’s notes.
China Launches Next-Gen Aircraft Carrier in Naval Milestone
Posted: June 19, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 003, aircraft carrier, China, PLAN, the Fujian, Xu Qiliang 5 Comments
BEIJING (AP) — Beijing launched a new-generation aircraft carrier Friday, 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 in the 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-colored streamers flew and colorful 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 analyzed 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 defense intelligence company Janes.
“This shows that Chinese engineers are now able to indigenously manufacture the full suite of surface combatants associated with modern naval warfare, including corvettes, frigates, destroyers, amphibious assault ships, and now an aircraft carrier,” he said. “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 U.S. Navy. China’s official Xinhua News Agency confirmed the Fujian employed the electromagnetic system in a report on Friday’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, Rahmat said.
“These catapults allow aircraft deployed to carry a more extensive load of weapons in addition to external fuel tanks,” Rahmat 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 modernizing 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.
At the same time, the U.S. 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, through which an estimated $5 trillion in global trade travels each year and which holds rich but fast-declining fishing stocks and significant undersea oil and gas deposits.
China has been far and away the most aggressive in asserting its claim to virtually the entire waterway, its island features and resources.
The U.S. Navy has sailed warships past artificial islands China built in the sea that are equipped with airstrips and other military facilities. China insists its territory extends to those islands, while the U.S. Navy says it conducts the 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 Chinese navy’s continued development into a global force, “gradually extending its operational reach beyond East Asia into a sustained ability to operate at increasingly longer ranges.”
China’s “aircraft carriers and planned follow-on carriers, once operational, will extend air defense coverage beyond the range of coastal and shipboard missile systems and will enable task group operations at increasingly longer ranges,” the Defense Department said.
In recent years, China has expanded its presence into the Indian Ocean, the Western Pacific and beyond, setting up its first overseas base over the last decade in the African Horn nation of Djibouti, where the U.S., Japan and others also maintain a military presence. It 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 on expanding a port facility there that could give it a presence in the Gulf of Thailand.
Xinhua reported the Fujian, which carries the hull number 18, had a fully loaded displacement of 80,000 tons. In a March report prepared by the U.S. Congressional Research Service, however, analysts said that satellite images suggest the Type 003′s displacement was about 100,000 tons, similar to those of U.S. Navy carriers.
The PLAN currently has some 355 ships, including submarines, and the U.S. estimates the force will grow to 420 ships by 2025 and 460 ships by 2030. Despite having the world’s largest navy numerically, however, the PLAN for now still has nowhere near the capabilities of the U.S. Navy and remains far behind in carriers.
The U.S. Navy is the world’s leader in aircraft carriers, with 11 nuclear-powered vessels. It also has nine amphibious assault ships that can carry helicopters and vertical-takeoff fighter jets.
American allies like Britain and France also have their own carriers, and Japan has four “helicopter destroyers,” which are technically not aircraft carriers, but carry aircraft. Two are being converted to support short take-off and vertical-landing fighters.
China’s 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.
Its shipyard-launch ceremony was presided over by Xu Qiliang, member of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission led by president and party leader Xi Jinping.
After Xu cut the ribbon for the launch, a bottle of champagne was broken across the Fujian’s bow, Xinhua reported. The doors of the drydock then opened and the ship moved out into the water and moored at its pier.
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 extremely cautiously in the development of aircraft carriers, seeking to apply only technologies that have been tested and perfected.
At the moment, China is not believed to have the aircraft developed to fully realize the potential of the new carrier, Rahmat said.
It is not known how close China is in the development of its KJ-600 AWACS aircraft, which it began testing in 2020, to have it ready for carrier operations, and there is “little evidence” it has begun work on carrier onboard delivery transport aircraft, he said.
Now that it is launched, the carrier will have to be fitted out, which could take two to six months. Then there will be harbor acceptance trials and sea trials, which will likely take another six months before engineers begin launching test loads using the catapult system.
“The first aircraft will only be launched from this carrier perhaps in late-2023 to 2024, and full operational capability will likely be declared closer to 2025,” he said.
Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report. Rising reported from Bangkok.
Source: RealClear Defense “China Launches Next-Gen Aircraft Carrier in Naval Milestone”
Note: This is RealClear Defense’ report I post here for readers’ information. It does not mean whether I agree or disagree with the report’s views.
China launches third aircraft carrier
Posted: June 17, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aircraft carrier, catapult, China 7 CommentsReuters
June 17, 2022 2:34 PM GMT+8 Last Updated 30 min ago
The Chinese flag is seen in this illustration taken May 30, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (image omitted)
BEIJING, June 17 (Reuters) – China launched its third aircraft carrier on Friday, the domestically designed and built Fujian, state media reported, sending a statement of intent towards rival powers including the United States as it continues to modernise its military.
Champagne, colourful ribbons, water cannons and smoke were used to celebrate the warship’s launch and official naming at a ceremony at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai.
Dozens of Chinese Navy personnel lined up in front of the ship and sang the national anthem at the ceremony, which was also attended by senior officials including Xu Qiliang, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
The aircraft carrier features a full-length flight deck with a catapult launch system, according to state media.
The Fujian will join the Shandong, commissioned in late 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted domestically.
Only the United States, which has 11 aircraft carriers, has more of such vessels. Ranked just below China, Britain has two in operation.
The Fujian’s launch demonstrates the Chinese military’s increasing capability at a time of rising tension with the United States over Taiwan and Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea.
The new carrier was named after the coastal province of Fujian which lies just across the Taiwan strait from Taiwan, and is the home of the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army.
Taiwan is a self-ruled thriving democracy. But China considers Taiwan its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under Beijing’s control.
Reporting by Ryan Woo and Martin Pollard; editing by Richard Pullin and Stephen Coates
Note: This is Reuters’ report I post here for readers’ information. It does not mean whether I agree or disagree with the report’s views.
Chinese Aircraft Carrier Deploys Swarm of Drones
Posted: June 5, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aircraft carrier, China, drone, drone swarm, the Shandong 3 CommentsThe War Zone says in its report “Chinese Aircraft Carrier Seen With A Fleet Of Drones On Its Deck” on June 2, 2022, “Images have emerged online that appear to show multiple examples of at least two different types of commercial or commercial-derivative drones with vertical takeoff and landing capability on the deck of the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong.”
It is not sure the exact circumstances behind these images and the types of the drones as the images are not clear enough but is sure that China has been trying to deploy drones on its aircraft carriers.
The images have been found from Chinese web users’ posts but at least one them that actually shows a drone in flight has China’s official media CCTV-7 watermark.
There is no surprise in that as many countries are doing research for using drone swarms along with manned fighter jets.
Comment by Chan Kai Yee on The War Zone’s report, full text of which can be found at https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/chinese-aircraft-carrier-seen-with-fleet-of-drones-onboard.
Impossible, Using Aircraft Carriers to Attack Far-away Strong Power
Posted: May 10, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aircraft carrier, China, DF-21D, PLAN, US navy 4 Comments19fortyfive.com’s article “Meet The DF-21D–China’s Plan To Use Missiles To Sink A Navy Aircraft Carrier” yesterday on China’s DF-21D missile’s capability in deterring US aircraft carrier’s attack at Chinese homeland. The article forgets China’s ground based warplanes and advanced air-defense systems.
This blogger has previous posts on US inability to attack strong powers with aircraft carriers, pointing out the limited carrier-borne warplanes are inferior in number to deal with the large number of ground-based warplane and advanced air-defense systems in strong powers such as Russia and China.
NATO may attack Russia from land but the US is utterly unable to attack China from land. Even if the US sends all its 11 carrier battle groups the number of warplanes will not exceed 1,100 in all, far less than China’s thousands of land-based warplanes.
In fact, the US is unable to deploy all its carriers to attack China as some of them have to be maintained in ports and some of them have to be deployed in other areas in the world to maintain its world hegemony.
Anyway, using US limited aircraft carriers to attack China is simply a stupid idea.
Comment by Chan Kai Yee on 19fortyfive.com’s article, full text of which can be viewed at https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/05/meet-the-df-21d-chinas-plan-to-use-missiles-to-sink-a-navy-aircraft-carrier/.
New Stealth Aircraft and Capabilities in China’s Air Arms Eroding U.S. Advantages
Posted: November 8, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2-seat J-20, aircraft carrier, China, FC-31, J-20, Military, US 1 CommentNov. 4, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak
The Chinese air force is developing new stealth aircraft and expanding the weapons-carrying capacity of its J-20 stealth fighter, the Pentagon said in its annual report on Chinese military power, issued Nov. 3. The Pentagon said U.S. advantages in the air domain are “eroding” as China’s air and naval air forces shift from a defensive mode to power projection and long-range attack.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force and Navy (the PLAAF and PLAN) together operate the largest air forces in the Indo-Pacific region and “the third-largest in the world,” with 2,800 aircraft—not including trainers or unmanned aerial systems—of which 2,250 are combat-coded bombers, fighters, and multi-role airplanes, according to “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China, 2021.”
Quoting China’s own internal defense white paper from 2019, the Pentagon said the air forces are transitioning from strictly air defense to “offensive and defensive operations,” toward building a “strategic” air force capable of projecting power at long range.
“The PLAAF is rapidly catching up to Western air forces,” the report said. “This trend is gradually eroding longstanding and significant U.S. military technical advantages” relative to the PRC “in the air domain.”
The Pentagon revealed that in addition to China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon and FC-31 stealth fighters, as well as a “strategic” stealth bomber, China is developing “new medium- and long-range stealth bombers to strike regional and global targets.”
The strategic stealth bomber, likely called the H-20, employs “many fifth-generation technologies,” having a range of 8,500 kilometers and a payload of “at least 10 metric tons.” It will have a nuclear mission in addition to filling conventional roles, and the Pentagon estimated it will take “more than a decade to develop this advanced type of bomber.” However, the DOD has consistently underestimated China’s ability to rapidly field new aircraft over the last two decades.
The near-term goal of the PLAAF is to become a more effective and capable force “proficient at joint operations.” The Chinese air force has reorganized itself into multi-role brigades and has disbanded its fighter and fighter-bomber divisions.
The Pentagon reiterated its previous report’s assertion that, within the next several years, the PLAAF will transition from obsolescence to “a majority fourth-generation force.”
The marquee aircraft of the PLAAF is the J-20, which the Pentagon said has been fielded in “limited numbers,” without being specific, although recent open-source estimates place it around 150 airplanes. China continues to develop the FC-31 Gyrfalcon two-engined lookalike of the American F-35 either for export or as “a future naval fighter for the PLAN’s next class of aircraft carriers.” China has taken delivery of all 24 Su-35 advanced Flanker aircraft it bought from Russia and continues to develop its own J-15 version.
Upgrades of the J-20 are already underway, including “increasing the number of [air-to-air missiles] the fighter can carry in its low-observable configuration” as well as “installing thrust-vectoring engine nozzles, and adding supercruise capability” by installing indigenous WS-15 engines. Early models of the J-20 relied on Russian engines, and China watchers are divided over whether PLAAF’s engine suppliers have overcome production problems with high-performance fighter engines.
The report does not include developments in China’s military since 2020. Just in October 2021, China allowed images to circulate of a two-seat J-20 taxiing—suggesting a manned/unmanned teaming role for the backseater—and a refined version of the FC-31 in flight. The FC-31 images showed a catapult launch bar on the nose landing gear and a wing-fold mechanism on the wings, clearly indicating the jet is headed for carrier service.
China’s nascent strategic bomber capability is embodied in an upgraded H-6N, a derivative of the Russian Tu-16 “Badger,” which boasts an air refueling capability for longer range and recessed carrying space on the fuselage for an “air-launched ballistic missile.” Other variants of the H-6 are being upgraded for long-range attacks of targets in the “second island chain” perimeter of China in the Pacific.
Other new aircraft in China’s air force include the GX-11, a variant of the Y-9, used for jamming and electronic countermeasures, “designed to disrupt an adversary’s battlespace awareness at long ranges.” In addition to the Russian Il-78 Midas aerial tanker, China has modified some H-6U bombers into the tanker role. A tanker version of China’s Y-20 transport, which resembles the American C-17, is also in development. While the report says deliveries of the Y-20 are underway, it did not give numbers.
Another new aircraft is the KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft, an advance over the KJ-2000 and KJ-200 variants. This AWACS-like airplane with a circular radome housing active electronically scanned array radars, is also believed to be used for networking various parts of the joint Chinese forces.
The Pentagon drew on showcased systems in the People’s Republic of China’s 70th Anniversary parade in 2019 to describe many of China’s unmanned aircraft, noting the new Gongji-11 stealthy flying-wing aircraft, believed to be capable of carrying weapons and a host of systems meant to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
In addition, the report called out the “large dual-engine TW356 transport UAV that suspends a large cargo pod between the two large engine nacelles” as a noteworthy development. The Xianglong “joined-wing high altitude” unmanned aircraft, a rough analog to the Global Hawk, is being deployed to airfields in Western China and on Hainan Island. The report also noted a “rocket-powered,” high-speed UAV called the Wuzhen-8.
Unlike previous reports, the latest version did not describe PLAAF and PLAN air-to-air missiles. China’s PL-15, analogous to the American AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), has longer range than the U.S. missile.
Source: Airforce Magazine “New Stealth Aircraft and Capabilities in China’s Air Arms Eroding U.S. Advantages”
Note: This is Airforce Magazine’s report I post here for readers’ information. It does not mean whether I agree or disagree with the report’s views.
China’s Future Carrier Airwing: New Stealth Fighter And AWACS Spotted In Flight
Posted: October 29, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aircraft carrier, carrier-borne fighter, China, Chinese navy, EMALS, J-35, KJ-600 5 Comments
Xavier Vavasseur 29 Oct 2021
The PLAN now has two of the STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) aircraft carriers in service. Those use a ski-jump to launch the aircraft. It comes with limitations: Aircraft need a high thrust to weight ratio and their operational payload may be limited. China is currently building a third carrier near Shanghai: The Type-003 will be massive. It is roughly comparable to the U.S. Navy’s Ford Class. This will be a CATOBAR (catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery) design. Thanks to its three EMALS (electro-magnetic aircraft launch system) catapults, it will be able to launch the new aircraft spotted in flight today.
J-35 / J-XY stealth fighter
The aircraft seems to feature folding wings (to reduced the footprint when stored onboard the carrier) and catapult launch bar (above the front wheel) for CATOBAR operations. The aircraft is designed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and the flight took place at the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group test facility in Harbin.
The official designation of China’s new twin-engine stealth fighter aircraft is not known yet. Most open sources calls it “J-35” or “J-XY), some even calls it a variant of the FC-31. A full-size model of the stealth plane first appeared in June this year at land based testing facility: A full-sized mock-up of a real Chinese Navy aircraft carrier, located at Wuhan. Naval News‘ regular contributor H I Sutton covered at length the development at the time, pointing out the similarities between the aircraft and the FC-31. He says:
“The airframe complies with the new norms of stealthy aircraft design. Carefully aligned angles, a mix of sharp chines and blended surfaces, and sawtooth edges to panels. Over the course of its development, since its first flight in 2013. Three prototypes have flown with the latest, in 2020, being considered closer to a production aircraft.
“A internal weapons bay spans the lower fuselage a lot like the F-22. This can carry the PL-15 medium range air-air missile. Like the F-35, additional weapons can be carried in underwing hardpoints. These will increase the aircraft’s radar cross-section so they are not normally seen. “
KJ-600 airborne early warning & Control (AEW&C)
Also spotted in flight (when, we don’t know but the pictures were released today) is the KJ-600. This is the Chinese analogue to the U.S. Navy’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and it looks remarkably similar. The mock-up appeared on the deck of the concrete carrier in 2017. The prototype first flew in August or September 2020. While the real thing is not identical to the mock-up, it is very close.
Not much is known about its sensor suite but Henri Kenhmann from the Eastpendulum blog, a very reliable source on the Chinese military, previously shared the following with us:
“As for the type of radar selected for the platform, rumors mention an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar mounted on a rotating disk. This would favor the “width” of the radar (therefore the number of installed modules) the power and the range, to the detriment of the refresh rate had it been a three-sided fixed configuration (as is the case with the KJ-2000 and the KJ-500 land-based AWACS). A quick calculation shows that in “back-to-back” configuration, the “width” of each radar face is about 15% larger than in the configuration of three fixed faces, but all of this remains to be confirmed.”
Source: Navalnews “China’s Future Carrier Airwing: New Stealth Fighter And AWACS Spotted In Flight”
Note: This is Navalnews’ report I post here for readers’ information. It does not mean whether I agree or disagree with the report’s views.
China’s Massive New Aircraft Carrier Is As Big As It Can Be
Posted: October 29, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aircraft carrier, China, EMALS, KJ-600, PLAN, Type 003 Comments Off on China’s Massive New Aircraft Carrier Is As Big As It Can BeAircraft carriers are at the vanguard of China’s incredible naval expansion A new, larger super-carrier is being built near Shanghai. Analysis of radar satellite imagery shows that it is as large as China’s new bases allow.
H I Sutton 27 Oct 2021
The growth of the Chinese Navy has been incredible. The PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) is barely recognizable from itself twenty years ago. Among the most important developments have been aircraft carriers.
Defense analysts have been trawling open source intelligence (OSINT) to keep up with developments. But like much of China, the shipyard building the latest carrier is protected from traditional satellite observation by impenetrable cloud. A new commercial satellite has provided Naval News with a way to see through this cloud.
Seeing In The Dark Or Through Cloud
Using SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites owned by Capella Space we have checked progress on the carrier. This radar imagery can see through the clouds, and at night.
Starting from 10 years ago with imported Russian technology, the latest design is starting to match the U.S. Navy’s super carriers. The PLAN now has two of the Russian-based carriers in service. And the third, the Type-003, is under construction near Shanghai. It is roughly comparable to the U.S. Navy’s Ford Class.
The SAR imagery picks out the three deck catapults, a major change from the Russian based carriers. Those rely on a ski-jump bow to launch aircraft. That works for the J-15 Flanker fighters but does not permit the KJ-600 AWE&C (airborne early warning and control) aircraft to operate. This new twin-prop plane closely resembles the E-2 Hawkeye and is seen as generally comparable to the latest models.
The new carrier has EMALS (electro-magnetic aircraft launch system), like catapults. This is the same technology that the U.S. Navy is introducing with the Ford Class. It means that the KJ-600 can be operated. And it should improve the endurance of carrier borne fighters. In particular, a new stealthier carrier fighter is expected.
Photo 003 2
The Type-003 aircraft carrier is visible in this recent radar satellite (SAR) image from Capella Space.
Progress appears steady at the Shanghai yard. Another ship which was recently in the same dry dock, but nearer the river, has been moved. This was blocking the entrance of the dry dock so is a necessary step before the carrier is launched.
We do not believe that launch of the carrier is imminent however. This is because sections of a container ship have been moved into the dock behind the carrier. Two massive holes providing access to the inner workings. This is normal for aircraft carrier construction and the same can be seen on U.S. ships.
Analysis of the imagery also reveals insights on other warship programs. A number of the large hovercraft intended for amphibious ships are still present in the basin, along with other naval vessels.
Of particular interest however, the unique ‘Sailless’ submarine does not appear to be present. Analysts will be watching this submarine closely for signs of it entering operational service, or being moved to a research unit.
Size Matters
1,900 km (1,200 miles) further south, at Sanya on Hainan, work is continuing on a gigantic dry dock for the carriers. The facility is strategically located for access to the South China Sea. One carrier, the Type-002 Shandong, is already based there, together with most of China’s nuclear submarine fleet.
A large cofferdam was built in 2016-17 to keep the sea out while construction took place. The docks are now clearly visible in the SAR imagery. Measurements confirm that the new Type-003 aircraft carrier will be able to fit it. However it’s tight beam suggests that China does not have plans for substantially larger carriers.
The Type-003 carrier (left) is wider and longer than the first two carriers, such as the Type-002 (left). Catapults replace the ski-jump allowing more types of aircraft to be operated.
Importantly, the largest new dock is only about 80 meters (268 feet) wide, which is the same as the docket where the Type-003 is being built. The Type-003 itself is also approximately 80m wide (our earlier estimates were slightly narrow as it turned out). This suggests that a) the Type-003 will fit inside the new dock, b) any new carrier cannot be any wider if it too is to fit.
Therefore it seems likely that the Type-003 represents the ‘full size’ Chinese aircraft carrier for the foreseeable future. The next ones may be longer, or greater displacement, but not wider. If they are, yet more infrastructure may need to be built.
The new aircraft carriers represent a significant increase in capabilities for the Chinese Navy. And also part of their emergence as a true blue-water force.
Source: Navalnews “China’s Massive New Aircraft Carrier Is As Big As It Can Be”
Note: This is Navalnews’ report I post here for readers’ information. It does not mean whether I agree or disagree with the report’s views.
Tiananmen's Tremendous Achievements 