China’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Now Conducting Sea Trials
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
China’s newest aircraft carrier, Type 001A Shandong (Hull 17), is conducting sea trials at a time Beijing’s military leadership criticizes the pace and scope of U.S. Navy operations in the region.
Shandong departed the Dalian Shipyard on May 25 to test the ship’s weapons and equipment, to train crew members and enhance the carrier’s ability to conduct missions, Senior Col. Ren Guoqiang, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense, confirmed on Friday during a media briefing.
Footage of Shandong , released by the ministry, shows the carrier launching and recovering Shenyang J-15 fighters. Shandong is China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy’s second aircraft carrier, but the first one built domestically. China’s other carrier is Liaoning , which was initially built by the Soviet Union. China spent years refitting the carrier before putting it into service in 2012.
“The PLA Navy is conducting sea trials and training exercises for aircraft carrier Shandong in accordance with the annual training plan,” Ren said.
The carrier was reported operating in the northern region of the Yellow Sea, according to an account in The South China Morning Post , which first reported Shandong’s sea trials.
China started constructing Shandong in November 2013 at Dalian Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp, according to China’s Ministry of National Defense. Shandong has a displacement of at least 49,000 tons and a conventional propulsion system.
In comparison, two nuclear reactors power each of the U.S. Navy’s new Ford-class carriers, which have displacements of 100,000 tons.
Shandong left for sea trials just days after the White House released a report criticizing China’s expanding use of economic and military power to coerce nations to adopt China’s world view. The report, United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China , was released on May 20 and was required by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019.
“Beijing contradicts its rhetoric and flouts its commitments to its neighbors by engaging in provocative and coercive military and paramilitary activities in the Yellow Sea, the East and South China Seas, the Taiwan Strait, and Sino-Indian border areas,” the White House report states.
On Friday, during the same briefing he confirmed Shandong’s sea trials, Ren countered the White House report’s claims.
“The current situation in the South China Sea is generally stable. The United States sent warships and aircraft to the South China Sea to carry out the so-called freedom of navigation operations to conduct close-in reconnaissance against China’s islands and reefs and hold targeted military exercises. These operations are the real drivers for militarization of the South China Sea. China urges the U.S. side to respect the efforts made by the countries in the region to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea and make more positive and constructive efforts,” Ren said, according to the briefing’s English language transcript released by the ministry.
China sent Shandong through the Taiwan Strait in December , shortly after its commissioning and just weeks before Taiwan’s presidential election. At the time, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, was vying for re-election. She won the election with a comfortable margin.
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From other sources, China has put the construction of their first nuclear powered carrier on hold. The Type 003 as it is designated has a design that looks to be similar to the old US Kitty Hawk class from the 1950s, but with nuclear reactors. It is quite possible that they are realizing that the cost for nuclear propulsion is not cost effective for them.
This type of carrier going through sea trial would have a difficult, but not impossible task if matched up against one of the American designed carriers currently deployed.
I was under the impression that they had a massive navy complete with nuclear subs and many carriers.
I guess their biggest military force are their ground troops
China does have manpower to spare for ground forces. But their carriers don't seem far ahead of old WWII carriers.
Not much of a Navy, but they learned well from the Cuban Missile crisis that submarines alone do not give you control of the sea lanes. I doubt they are looking to deploy much past the SCS and ECS. (yet) Their artificial islands in the SCS that are in violation of international law are operating as "unsinkable" aircraft carriers.
Good morning, Fly! I wasn't in the Navy and only know USAF acronyms, so what is SCS and ECS?
Also, these artificial islands, which I have heard of, do they float or are they stationary?
Try this primmer on about these artificial islands....
SCS.... South China Sea
ECS.... East China Sea
You zoomies need to get out more...../s
Hope you're well Trout
ROFL!!!!
You're right about needing to get out more!
The ECS thru me and then I realized that SCS stood for South China Sea.....major brainfart this morning.
I'm well, Fly, I hope you and your family are, also
major brainfart this morning
More coffee.... that will do it!
Everyone is good here, and getting involved in the local activities to support protestors and protect businesses.
Don't take this comment as meaning I support it, but just for information, I believe China bases its sovereignty over those islands on ancient maps that include them with the mainland.
They have very advanced weapons systems and a very advanced air force. The aircraft carriers are is a small part of their overall power. I have to agree with FLY, I believe that the Chinese don't feel that nuclear powered AC is cost-effective for them.
This is a good link to the submarine capabilities.
A link to some of China's advanced weaponry.
They have and are developing more missiles that are known as ''Aircraft killers''....They have a thousand-mile range and are very inexpensive to build when compared to the cost of a nuclear power AC.
A very old adage, ''Never underestimate your enemy''
We have done that a few times and it's been very costly for us.
Should read ''aircraft carrier killers''.
Their "carrier killers" are being taken seriously. The Navy last month successfully tested a 150KW laser at sea. They plan to double that power level by the end of the year. It is estimated that it will take 200KW to take out a ballistic carrier killer missile. The tracking radar and software are ready, they just need the power output.
It seems to me that China's military is adapted pretty well to defence rather than invasion. Surely nobody is criticizing the fact that the Chinese navy stays pretty well close to the mainland - how can anyone criticize its carrier going through the Taiwan Straight, which means it's simply sailing along the Chinese mainland coast, and what's wrong with that? Granted that China sent a warship to protect international commercial traffic off the Somalia coast which is laudable, and it does sometimes patrol islands over which it considers it has sovereignty. But it's laughable to think that it could be a threat to the US Navy, so if I were an American I don't think I'd be worried about another attack on Pearl Harbour.
An attack on Guam would be much more likely.
Your comment must have been tongue-in-cheek, because you can't possibly believe that China would start a war that would draw in the USA. I worry that Trump is nuts enough to push the button, but there's no way Xi Jinping would treat nukes as anything but a deterrent (or a response if anyone were stupid enough to fire nukes at China).
Oliver Cromwell once said, “A man-of-war is the best Ambassador.”
China's navy is not being built to go toe to toe with the US. It is to "influence" it neighbors in the region, and control the sea lanes in the SCS. The area is a natural commercial choke point. Make no mistake about it Buzz, China's navy is NOT being built for defense. Nobody builds a blue water navy for defense.
Who said anything about nukes? Nukes are only used if one nation thinks it can destroy the other and its deterrent without getting destroyed itself ( highly unlikely in this context) or or a nation has completely lost a conventional war and is invaded and can’t repel the invaders and are in a use em or lose them bind . (again unlikely here)
I just watched news clip here where a Chinese sub launched a couple of missiles on a practice run. I guess that wasn't for defence.
Depends on the missiles Buzz...... Anti-ship/ship to shore cruise missiles, or ICBMs? The latter is for deterrence, the former are offensive weapons.
How's there weather there today? If memory serves me right, you should be heading into the hot & humid days right now.
29 Centigrade predicted for today and higher over the next two days.
the ramped deck in front means there is no catapult system..... very lame,
only lighter aircraft can take off from that ship,
being forced to use light aircraft means a combination of less power, less weapons and shorter range.