The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) reportedly operated its three aircraft carriers for the first time for exercises or trials last week. The PLA’s display of “power” comes ahead of the 12th anniversary of the commissioning of its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
China has commissioned two aircraft carriers – Liaoning and Shandong. The first is a Soviet-era aircraft carrier that China commissioned in 2012 and the second is its first domestically built aircraft carrier. The third aircraft carrier, Fujian, is China’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier to date with a powerful aircraft launch system. Fujian has undergone sea trials and has not yet been commissioned.
China’s aircraft carrier program is progressing rapidly, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times reported. Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said the Liaoning aircraft carrier conducted regular exercises in waters including the Western Pacific to enhance combat capabilities.
Each carrier follows a deployment cycle, only a small portion of which is spent on station. When not on station, the ship is in one of three other phases: in transit to or from the operational area, in its home port for maintenance, crew rest and shore training, or at sea for short periods of crew training or operations when not deployed
Both conventionally powered and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers go through multiple deployment cycles within an operational cycle, with time between complex overhauls (periods of major maintenance).
Type 001
The Liaoning aircraft carrier (Type 001) was spotted north of Taiwan and near Japan. The Japanese Defense Ministry said it detected Chinese naval activity in its economic waters – a sea zone that extends 200 nautical miles beyond its territorial sea. The aircraft carrier is accompanied by warships and the group is called a Carrier Battle Group (CBG). Japan said the group sailed from the East China Sea, passing between the islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote – both under Japan – towards the Philippine Sea.
Image Source: Google Earth
The group hosted the takeoff and landing of fighter jets and helicopters southeast of Miyako Island, the Global Times said. These islands are part of the First Island Chain, a geopolitically important border for the US, with abundant natural resources and economic significance. It is also called the first line of defense of the US in the west of the Pacific Ocean.
Image credit: www.960cyber.afrc.af.mil
This is the first time Chinese warships have entered Japan’s territorial waters, which it said was “totally unacceptable”. Territorial waters are different from a country’s exclusive economic zone.
Type 002
The Shandong aircraft carrier (Type 002) recently conducted certification tests for night operations for a group of new fighter jet pilots during combat exercises in the South China Sea, state-run CCTV reported.
According to CCTV’s report, the exercise aims to improve combat capabilities in all areas “round the clock” as more fighter jets will now be able to operate on aircraft carriers.
Type 003
Meanwhile, the third aircraft carrier put to sea for the fourth time on September 3 for sea trials, reports Newsweek. Fujian put to sea for its first trial in May this year.
Fujian was in the Bohai Sea. Satellite imagery showed the warship conducting replenishment trials on Tuesday. The Newsweek report claimed the aircraft carrier left Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard for sea trials, expected to arrive in Shanghai on Saturday as it was in the Yellow Sea and heading south.
Fujian aircraft carrier
The Fujian carrier (Type 003) weighs 79,000 tons, carrying the most powerful fighter jet launch system – the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). Currently, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, uses the EMALS launch system. The EMALS catapult provides an aircraft carrier with a more smooth, accurate launch, allowing heavier fighter jets to take off.
China is reportedly building a fourth aircraft carrier similar to the Fujian and is expected to be nuclear-powered, the US Department of Defense said in its latest report on the modernization of the Chinese navy. The Fujian aircraft carrier will be the first conventionally powered platform with the EMALS system.
A Congressional Research Service report says China wants its navy to be “capable of deterring U.S. intervention in a conflict over Taiwan or any other issue in China’s immediate maritime domain, or failing that, delay the arrival of U.S. forces or reduce the effectiveness of U.S. forces that do intervene.”
