Type 003 aircraft carrier

The Type 003 aircraft carrier is a planned aircraft carrier of the People's Liberation Army Navy's aircraft carrier programme. The Type 003 will be the first Chinese carrier to feature an integrated electric propulsion system. This will allow the operation of electromagnetic launch catapults.[3][4] The Type 003 configuration would for the first time be catapult-assisted takeoff barrier arrested recovery (CATOBAR), while the first two carriers were short takeoff barrier arrested recovery (STOBAR).[5] Originally, China's military did not officially confirm the designation of the Shandong carrier before it was commissioned. This lead the observers to believe that it would be designated as "Type 001A" and China's third carrier will be designated as "Type 002". However, upon commissioning of the Shandong as Type 002, observers now believe China's third aircraft carrier class would be designated as Type 003 instead. Due to the secretive nature of China's aircraft carrier program, information regarding the official naming and designation of the carriers will not be revealed until commissioning. [6]

Class overview
Builders: Jiangnan Shipyard
Operators:  People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded by: Type 002 aircraft carrier
Succeeded by: Type 004 aircraft carrier
Building: 1[1]
General characteristics
Type: Aircraft carrier
Displacement: 85,000 tonnes[2]
Propulsion: conventional with integrated electric propulsion
Aviation facilities: Hangar deck

Development

Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo of the People's Liberation Army Navy said in 2013 that China's next aircraft carrier would be equipped with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system.[7] Multiple prototypes were spotted by media in 2012, and aircraft capable of electromagnetic launching were tested in Chinese Navy research facilities.[8]

Construction of the carrier began in the mid-2010s, although the precise date is unknown. The National Interest reported that construction began in March 2015,[9] while The Diplomat said that "initial work" had begun in February 2016, followed by a notice to proceed given to the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard Group in March 2017.[10] In September 2018, Foxtrot Alpha reported that there were two ships being built in Jiangnan and Dalian Shipyards simultaneously.[11]

The construction of Type 003 aircraft carrier was reportedly delayed in June 2017 while the Navy tested electromagnetic and steam-powered catapult systems.[12] By November 2017, the Navy had reportedly developed a new means of powering electromagnetic catapults with conventional power sources instead of nuclear reactors, and further work on the Type 003 was due to begin imminently.[13][14][15] The design breakthrough is led by Rear Admiral Ma Weiming.

The ship is expected to be launched in 2020 and enter active service in 2023.[10] It is estimated to have an aircraft capacity of about 40 fighter aircraft, several propeller-powered transport and airborne early warning and control aircraft all operated by pilots of the People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force.[16]

On 7 May 2019, the Center for Strategic and International Studies identified overhead imagery of the hull under construction in satellite photographs. The images showed a bow section that appeared to end with a flat 30-metre (98-foot) front and a separate hull section 41 metres wide, suggesting that the vessel will be larger than the unbuilt 85,000-ton Soviet aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk but smaller than the 100,000-ton supercarriers of the United States Navy.[17][18] Its capabilities have also been suggested to be comparable to that of the American Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier of the early 1960s.[19]

See also

References
  1. "Inside China's Plan to Build the Second-Biggest Aircraft Carrier Fleet in the World". Forecast International. September 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  2. "China Reveals Launch Date of New Aircraft Carriers". Sputnik International. 13 February 2017.
  3. Minnie Chan (1 November 2017). "Breakthrough to power most advanced jet launch system on China's second home-grown aircraft carrier". South China Morning Post.
  4. http://www.janes.com/article/75396/china-claims-to-have-developed-conventionally-powered-electromagnetic-catapult
  5. "Aircraft Carrier Project - People's Liberation Army Navy".
  6. "What do we know (so far) about China's second aircraft carrier?". China Power. Center for Strategic and International Studies. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  7. "Chinese aircraft carrier should narrow the gap with its U.S. counterpart". english.peopledaily.com.cn. People's Daily. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  8. "简氏:中国试飞改进型歼-15 或用于测试电磁弹射器_《参考消息》官方网站". Cankaoxiaoxi.com. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  9. "China's Next Aircraft Carrier: Everything We Know (So Far)". The National Interest. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  10. "China Kicks Off Construction of New Supercarrier". The Diplomat. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  11. Mizokami, Kyle (7 September 2018). "Inside China's Plan to Build the Second-Biggest Aircraft Carrier Fleet in the World". Foxtrot Alpha. Jalopnik. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  12. "China Explores Electromagnetic Carrier Launch System". AIN online. 6 July 2017.
  13. "Breakthrough to power most advanced jet launch system on China's second home-grown aircraft carrier". SCMP. 1 November 2017.
  14. "China's New Aircraft Carrier to Use Advanced Jet Launch System". The Diplomat. 1 November 2017.
  15. "China claims to have developed conventionally powered electromagnetic catapult". Jane's 360. 2 November 2017.
  16. "China's Next Aircraft Carrier Will Be a Massive Leap Forward". Popular Mechanics. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  17. Robert Farley (10 May 2019). "The Significance of China's Second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier". The Diplomat. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  18. "Exclusive: Analysts - Images show construction on China's third - and largest - aircraft carrier". Reuters. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  19. Frank Chen (28 May 2019). "Third PLA carrier could be China's Kitty Hawk". Asia Times. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
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