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The Type 001A aircraft carrier is the first one made in China for the Chinese Navy
New Delhi: New images indicate that China is racing towards completion of its first home-grown aircraft carrier.
A month after NDTV reported that the hull of the ship, designated the Type 001-A appeared complete, a fresh set of images indicates that the 'island' of the carrier, in many ways the nerve-centre of the warship, has now been installed ahead of sea-trials commencing. The 'island' of the carrier consists of its bridge, aviation facilities, and battle-control spaces. Radars and sensors are mounted on the island in addition to air intakes and funnels from its engines.
Progress made of China's first home-grown aircraft carrier (right)
The Type 001-A, which is being constructed at a dry dock in the port city of Dalian to the East of Beijing, will likely weigh in at 60,000 tons and host close to 50 aircraft including 36 J-15 fighters, a Chinese replica of the Russian Su-27. The process of completing trials will, however, take a few years and the new Chinese carrier is unlikely to be commissioned before 2020.
The 001-A is the second Chinese aircraft carrier and its design is thought to be based on the Russian-designed Liaoning, a Russian designed aircraft carrier acquired by Beijing from the Ukraine several years after the collapse of the USSR.
Completed structure of Type 001-A, China's first home-grown aircraft carrier.
Significantly, new images have emerged on Chinese social media of a new variant of the J-15 fighter, designated the J-15A. The nose-wheel of the fighter features a catapult launch mechanism which clearly indicates that subsequent Chinese aircraft carriers and their strike fighters will likely be more capable than both the Liaoning and the Type 001.
Chinese J-15A prototype featuring nose-wheel catapult launch assembly
A catapult launch system, which is hooked up to the nose-wheel of carrier-borne aircraft, uses a compressed steam driven piston drive or an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) to propel a fully loaded fighter jet off the small deck of an aircraft carrier. At the moment, the Liaoning and the Type 001-A use a 'ski-jump' launch system where carrier-borne fighter jets use only the power of their own engines to accelerate down the runway of the carrier before being propelled off its deck from an inclined structure resembling a ski-jump. Without the additional acceleration provided by a catapult system, China's existing J-15 fighters need to weigh less to take off and consequently carry fewer weapons and possibly fuel making them significantly less capable during operational deployments.
The pace of completion of China's first home-grown aircraft carrier is a matter of concern for the Indian Navy. India's indigenous aircraft carrier, named Vikrant (after the first carrier to enter its fleet), is no-where close to completion despite having been launched in Kochi a full three-years before China's 001-A.
Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier
Though the hull, superstructure, and engines of the Vikrant have been integrated, its primary sensor, the Israeli MF-STAR (Multi-Function Surveillance, Track and Guidance) radar and Barak 8 Long Range surface to air missiles have not yet been acquired for this project. In a damaging report last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said, "With INS Vikramaditya [India's only operation aircraft carrier] in service and INS Viraat likely to be de-commissioned in 2016-17, continuous shifting of timelines of delivery of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier will adversely impact naval capabilities."
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/china-racing-ahead-of-india-in-aircraft-carrier-development-1472835