By:
Mike Yeo 1 day ago
The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning arrives in Hong Kong waters on July 7, 2017, less than a week after a high-profile visit by president Xi Jinping. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, Australia — One of China’s largest shipbuilders has revealed plans to speed up the development of China’s first nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier, as part of China’s ambition to
transform its navy into a blue-water force by the middle of the next decade.
In a since-amended news release outlining the company’s future strategic direction in all of its business areas, the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, or CSIC, said the shipbuilding group will redouble efforts to achieve technological breakthroughs in nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, new nuclear-powered submarines, quieter conventionally powered submarines, underwater artificial intelligence-based combat systems and integrated networked communications systems.
CSIC is responsible for both civilian and military shipbuilding activities in the north and the west of China.
The company release added that these breakthroughs are required for China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, to enhance its capability to globally operate in line with the service’s aim to become a networked, blue-water navy by 2025.
The original news release, which Defense News has seen and translated, has since been deleted from CSIC’s website and replaced by one missing all references to the details listed above. The updated release instead merely notes that the company “must resolutely implement (Chinese President) Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening our armed forces and take the building of a modern warfare system with Chinese characteristics as a guide to speed up breakthroughs in key core technologies.”
Chinese J-15 fighter jets are launched from the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier during military drills in the South China Sea on Jan. 2, 2017. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
CSIC was responsible for the refurbishment of China’s sole operational aircraft carrier, which was originally laid down as the Soviet Union’s Admiral Kuznetsov-class carrier Varyag. The hulk was acquired from Ukraine in the late 1990s and entered service with the PLAN in 2012 as the Liaoning.
The company is also building China’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, a slightly modified version of the Liaoning featuring various improvements. The ship is currently being fitted out at CSIC’s shipyard in Dalian, where the Liaoning was refurbished.
https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2...er/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow
@Horus @The Eagle @Irfan Baloch @Arsalan @Khafee @MastanKhan @war&peace @Zarvan
