By: ShelldrakeChina’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is assembling the production and basing capacity to make its aircraft carrier program one of Asia’s largest military endeavors.
A plausible near-term projection for China’s aircraft carrier ambitions was revealed in two 2009 articles in Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper, which featured rare access to Chinese military and shipbuilding sources. The sources noted that China would first build two non-nuclear medium-sized carriers similar to the 50,000-ton ex-Soviet/Ukrainian Project 1143.5 carrier Varyag being rebuilt in Dalian Harbor. These carriers would start initial construction in 2009. Beginning in 2020 or soon after, two 60,000-plus-ton nuclear-powered carriers would follow, based on plans for the Soviet-designed but never built Project 1143.7 Ulyanovsk class.
This would mean a likely fleet of five carriers by the 2020s, including Varyag, which entered a phase of accelerated reconstruction in 2009. Work surrounding this carrier is also serving to create the development and production infrastructure for future carriers. Since mid-2005, Varyag’s reconstruction has been documented by images from Chinese military fans on dozens of web pages
[snip...]
The PLA is also building escort ships for its carrier fleet. In the autumn of 2009 it appeared that two Chinese shipyards were building two new destroyer classes, but their configurations and equipment are not apparent. The PLA is expected to build up to 18 modern Type-065A air-defense frigates. Two new Type-093 nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) have been built, and a more capable Type-095 SSN is expected.
When it enters service around 2015, the Varyag and its sisters, plus escorts, may be located at a recently constructed naval base near Sanya on Hainan Island.
06 January 2011
Planned Chinese Aircraft Carrier Fleet Revealed
By the late 2020s China plans on deploying as many as 5 aircraft carriers. It remains to be seen whether or not the PLA will become skilled enough at carrier operations in order for the new carriers to be a major factor in naval planning.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
The UK and US are reducing their military forces, while China and Russia are expanding rapidly. I hope the Americans take note, and do not reduce their number of carriers even more. It would be sad if, in 20-30 years, Chinese and not American carriers would rule the worlds oceans.
I think it is applaudable if China were to rule the seas again just as we did so 600++years ago when Zheng He first set off with the Chinese Armada. Compare Zheng He's fleet to that of Columbus and you will see the difference..The Chinese fleet was 100 times larger than Columbus' fleet with larger ships too..With a stronger Chinese fleet,the Americanos will know that they are not the no1 which they think they are and that there will be someone there to check them.it's Rome Vs the Great Han Empire in USA Vs China
pretty sure there's more people trying to be a part of the US than a part of China
don't believe me? Tibet and Xinjiang both want their independence back, and the US is fighting off waves of people sneaking into the country
The person thinking China ruling the ocean is good is a traitor
^ I'm pretty sure he's Chinese, so I doubt you could call him a "traitor" for pimping his own country...
my emphasis:
"if China were to rule the seas again just as we did "
Post a Comment