China launches first domestically developed aircraft carrier

After a bottle of champagne was smashed, China’s first domestically-built aircraft carrier took to the sea for the first time in a much-anticipated ceremony on Wednesday morning.

The new Type 001A carrier is expected to be formally commissioned sometime before 2020 following the completion of sea trials and the arrival of its full air complement.

Aircraft carriers are seen as symbols of a nation’s military might, but the construction of them consumes huge amounts of resources, thus requiring developing countries to learn how to keep their military ambitions in check. China confirmed its existence in late 2015.

Zhu also said that while the first Chinese carrier’s role has primarily been one of training and research, the new ship “will focus on combat and defense”, according to a release last month from China’s Defense Ministry.

The ceremony was attended by Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, as well as top navy officials.

The shipbuilding dock here was filled with water on April 23 to float the massive vessel, believed to be 315 meters long and 75 meters across at its widest point.

Meanwhile, a third aircraft carrier, the Type 002, is being built in Shanghai.

The Chinese carriers are very different from the USA navy’s longer-range nuclear carriers.

Though China never gives out many details about its military, the government has said that the new carrier is inspired from the first carrier, the Liaoning, which was bought from Ukraine in 1998. However, the carrier has not been fully armed and kitted and is expected to start operating three years from now.

The aircraft carrier is the first domestically built vessel of its kind for China. Chinese media reported the new vessel has more space for aircraft than the Liaoning – by some estimates, it will be able to accommodate 36 fighter jets, or 50% more than its predecessor.

The new carrier is based closely on the PLAN’s sole operational aircraft carrier, Liaoning, with an angled flight deck and a ski jump for short takeoff but arrested recovery operations. By comparison, the United States has 10 carriers, four of which are deployed in the Asia-Pacific alone.

The launch of the new aircraft carrier comes amid China’s growing assertiveness in South China Sea.

Yin Zhuo, another Chinese military expert, said that China needs carrier battle formations in both the South China Sea and East China Sea, where China is involved in territorial disputes with multiple claimant states.