CHINESE HAVE TAKEN THE BIG LEAP IN NAVAL POWER PROJECTION - YET THE JOURNEY HAS JUST BEGUN WITH CHALLENGES AHEAD
China’s launch of a new aircraft carrier, its third and the second built entirely at home, speaks to Beijing’s ambitions to become a military power of global standing and reach.
And it suggests that China is prepared to compete with the United States on what has long been Washington’s strongest territory. U.S. military dominance, particularly in Asia, is built on maritime power, which in turn is built around its carrier fleet. Now China is offering a direct challenge: Anything you can do, we can do bigger and better.
Except, not quite.
It’s true that the new Type 003 carrier, now formally named
Fujian, is a big improvement on China’s first two carriers.
Both of those were smaller, which means they carry fewer aircraft. And they featured what’s known as a “ski jump,” a ramp at the bow of the ship that helps jets take off from the carrier’s short runway.
The ski jump imposes big constraints on the size, weight, and payload of the aircraft being launched,
which is why the United States has always preferred steam-driven catapults to hurl aircraft off the ship at high speed.
The Type 003 will use catapults, too, and they will be a more advanced electromagnetic design rather than steam-powered. This catches China up to the very latest U.S. technology, so far seen only on the new USS
Gerald Ford.
The USS Gerald R. Ford cost a fortune, but perhaps it was a bargain?
interestingengineering.com
But unlike the
Ford and every other serving American carrier,
Fujian is not nuclear-powered, which will make it more dependent on support ships to achieve long range and endurance. And then there is the issue of scale. This is China’s first supercarrier, now launched but certainly not finished and still several years from entering service.
The United States has 11 "Super-Carriers" , each one more powerful than China’s first effort. In addition China will have to match the Air Wing of US Carriers namely Lightning II JSF VLO 5.0th Gen F-35s , Super Rhino's and AEW&C Naval Fleet.
That role would be entrusted to Stealth J-35 Naval Carrier Jet , J-15 B / T versions, UAVs and KJ-600 AEW&C.Plus the Combat training exposure with support structure of forming a Battle Carrier Strike Group with LHDs and Frigates such as Type 055 & 52D is in process.
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For the United States, aircraft carriers have been useful in the post-Cold War era against countries that were largely defenseless when it comes to naval warfare—Iraq, Libya, and Yugoslavia, for instance. In fact, the U.S. Navy has tacitly acknowledged this point by gradually
decreasing the range of the combat aircraft it fields aboard its carriers. Why bother with long range if you can safely sail the carrier itself close to enemy shores?
China has demonstrated by effectively taking control of the South China Sea, building artificial islands there and equipping them with military facilities. It happened without much resistance from the United States, which quite understandably calculated that its interests were not so threatened by China’s moves that it would be willing to risk a major war. That same nagging question—is America’s military leadership and alliance network in Asia really important enough to risk a confrontation with the biggest rival the United States has ever faced?—is slowly eroding the credibility of the U.S.-centered security architecture of the region.
China’s aircraft carriers are not designed for a Taiwan reunification campaign or to have a direct role in a conflict with big powers like the US or India. China is learning from the US’ use of carriers and is most likely to use them in coercing and punishing smaller powers
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