Operation of an Aircraft carrier has been a goal of the PLAN since the 1970s, as part of the PLAN's ultimate blue-water aspirations.
Over the years, China has acquired four retired aircraft carriers
for study:
The Australian HMAS Melbourne and the ex-Soviet carriers Minsk, Kiev and Varyag. |
In 2009, for the first time, official Chinese state media quoted Defense Minister Liang Guanglie stating China's intention to build aircraft carriers.
Reports state that two 50,000-60,000 ton aircraft carriers are due to be finished by 2015.
Sukhoi Su-33s (navalized Flankers) are the aircraft most likely to be flown from these carriers.
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HMAS Melbourne was sold from Australia in 1985 and towed to China for scrapping.
But the Chinese regime evidently had other plans. The old vessel was towed to a naval dockyard and, through painstaking efforts lasting years, slowly pulled apart — bow to stern, piece by piece — all to obtain a picture of the best way to actually build an aircraft carrier from scratch.
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The Melbourne hardly reflected state-of-the-art technology, having been commissioned shortly after World War II. But the insight gained from dismantling the carrier undoubtedly helped with China's plans to extend its naval reach.
While awaiting for new aircraft carriers, the PLA is training pilots to land on the deck of the former Australian carrier ''Melbourne'', which China bought and dismantled when it was decommissioned.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/getting-defensive-20090505-asrm.html
www.theage.com.au/world/getting-defensive-20090505-asrm. |
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China has been pushing ahead with construction of a mega-sized nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be completed in 2020,
according to a Chinese Communist Party's dossier.
A source close to Chinese military affairs said on March 27 that
China has been promoting the construction of a 93,000-ton atomic-powered carrier under a plan titled the "085 Project."
The nation
also has a plan to build a 48,000-ton non-nuclear-powered
carrier
under the so-called "089 Project," added the source.
The source made such remarks based on government a dossier
that reveals that China’s Central Military Commision recently
approved the two projects. The dossier also contained
specifications of the aircraft carriers.
China had so far been known to be pushing ahead with
construction
of a non-nuclear-powered carrier, but not an atomic-powered
one.
Once the proposed Chinese carriers are deployed, the radius
of the Chinese Navy’s range is expected to reach Guam,
where a U.S. base is located. Thus, military experts are worried
about China’s moves prompting an arms race in Northeast Asia.
The dossier said the construction of the nuclear-powered
carrier will be completed in 2020. China State Shipbuiling
Corp’s Jiangnan shipyard located on Changxing Island near
Shanghai, will be responsible for its design and construction.
The size is similar to former Soviet’s unfinished
atomic-powered carrier Ulyanovsk, the dossier states.
China reportedly secretly purchased the design of Ulyanovsk
from Russia. When the nuclear-powered carrier is finished,
China will own an aircraft carrier which is on par with the
U.S.’s newest of such vessels, the 97,000-ton atomic-powered
USS Ronald Reagan, which recently docked at Busan Port to participate in a joint exercise between the South Korean and U.S. militaries.
According to the dossier, China plans to construct a non-atomic-powered carrier as a transition stage to building the larger nuclear-powered one. The non-atomic-powered carrier, due to be
completed in 2010, will be a mid-sized carrier with a standard displacement of 48,000 tons and a full-load displacement of
64,000 tons and will be able to carry 30-40
Chinese-built J-10 fighters, which China fielded in December
last year.
The Chinese authorities are reportedly overhauling
J-10 fighters to be loaded onto the new aircraft carriers.
Until the work is complete, the new carriers are going to
handle 10-20 Russian-made Su-33 fighters.
The non-nuclear-powered carrier is reported to be a revised
version of Ukraine’s Varyag, which China purchased in 1998.
A shipyard in Dalian is in charge of its design and construction.
After the new carrier is completed, Varyag will be used for
military training only.
Remarks made by Zhang Yunchuan, Minister of the
Commission on Science, Technology and Industry for
National Defense, to reporters after the National People’s
Congress (NPC) on March 16 - "The construction of an
aircraft carrier with China-developed technology will be
completed by 2010" - support the dossier’s information as
reported by the source.
A general-ranked official at South Korea’s Ministry of
National Defense said, "China’s plan to push ahead with
construction of atomic-powered aircraft carrier has not been
widely known. However, it is sufficiently to predict that the
nation will ultimately pursue the ownership of such a vessel." |
The vessel was moved to Shenzhen in September 2000 to form the centerpiece of the “Minsk World” theme park. For an entrance fee of eight dollars, visitors can now board the former flagship of the Soviet Pacific Fleet and see MiG fighters on the flight deck, models of antiship missiles and other weapons systems, and exhibitions on the history of the Russian navy and the Soviet space program.
Visitors can also watch displays of Russian dancing in the hangar, eat at a Russian-themed restaurant, and ride on a tank on parkland in front of the vessel. According to the pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po, Minsk World is aimed at “popularising science as well as national defense education.”17 Minsk World has proved a hit with both locals and tourists alike.
Source: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2004/art6-w04.htm
www.globalsecurity.org/military/library |
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