CV-18 Fujian - Type 003 Aircraft Carrier News & Discussions

[kungfugymnast]

003 is likely conventionally powered considering China needs 10 carriers by 2025 including LHD.

PLAN needed carriers with powered launch system so it probably won't be conventional if they wanted EMALS. 2 conventional carriers is enough for providing air cover over Spratlys. Without catapult or EMALS, fighters operating from type 001 & 002 only limited to air to air payload on more fuel or anti-ship missiles with less fuel.

The rest required nuclear powered for complete air to air, anti-ship, air to ground roles offensive/defensive sorties.

 

[Figaro]

This Type 003 nuclear powered carrier will be completed next year or 2 years? Wonder if J-35 project will start soon for this new carrier?

Time to launch should be around a year to a year and half given the current state of progress and JNCX's faster timetable than that of Dalian.

In English (roughly, feel free to fix if any mistake):

(upper)

Cabin wall drawing without equipment:

• A wall in the middle of a large single room (003)
• Large single room (Ford)
• Four rooms (002)

The Google satellite image showed that the Ford's cabin was a big single room stacked with no walls between the reactor and the turbine. The engine has no bulkhead in the middle.
It also showed that 003 has only the intermediate bulkhead, and no bulkheads between the reactor and the turbine.

(lower)

• Red rectangle: heap (nuclear reactor)
• Blue rectangle: turbine
• Green rectangle: generator
• Black circle: boiler

At first, they said the layout of the type, referring to the position of the heap and the engine, which could be seen by a person with a clear eye after carefully distinguishing the bulkheads: 002 has four rooms, Ford and 003 have large single room, the difference is obvious.

// Thanks @wulff for the correction

So is the 003 indeed going to be nuclear powered? That would be the PLAN killing two birds with one stone.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

This pic shows that the modules are starting to connect with each other.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

This Type 003 nuclear powered carrier will be completed next year or 2 years? Wonder if J-35 project will start soon for this new carrier?

It could be launched by the end of 2020 or early 2021 with the current pace of construction.

The true successor of the J-15 could have its maiden flighty by next year.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Time to launch should be around a year to a year and half given the current state of progress and JNCX's faster timetable than that of Dalian.

So is the 003 indeed going to be nuclear powered? That would be the PLAN killing two birds with one stone.

There is no appropriate propulsion for the Type 003 except the nuclear one.

 

[siegecrossbow]

This Type 003 nuclear powered carrier will be completed next year or 2 years? Wonder if J-35 project will start soon for this new carrier?

Expect J-35 news before the end of 2020.

 

[Deino]

This pic shows that the modules are starting to connect with each other.


View attachment 665325

Pardon, but where do you see them connected?

It could be launched by the end of 2020 or early 2021 with the current pace of construction.

Even if I agree with you that they seem to be faster than Dalian, there is no way they can launch the 003 within 4 months! The vessel itself is not yet connected, it is only up to the waterline-level, it is larger than 002 and most likely more complex. So how could they manage to finish such a monster ship within a fraction of time for what Dalian needed about 18 months from a comparable state of construction for the 002?

 

[Figaro]

It could be launched by the end of 2020 or early 2021 with the current pace of construction.

The true successor of the J-15 could have its maiden flighty by next year.

A launch by the end of 2020 or even early 2021 is extremely unlikely IMHO, even if the pace of construction is faster than what we've expected.

 

[Akasa]

Expect J-35 news before the end of 2020.

Why?

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

A launch by the end of 2020 or even early 2021 is extremely unlikely IMHO, even if the pace of construction is faster than what we've expected.

Well, by comparing with the chronological progression of the CVN-78.

You can see it only took 40 days for the Type 003 to become from keel to 24 months.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Pardon, but where do you see them connected?







Even if I agree with you that they seem to be faster than Dalian, there is no way they can launch the 003 within 4 months! The vessel itself is not yet connected, it is only up to the waterline-level, it is larger than 002 and most likely more complex. So how could they manage to finish such a monster ship within a fraction of time for what Dalian needed about 18 months from a comparable state of construction for the 002?

You can see more modules have been added to the waist.

Some modules are starting to become connected to each other.

And this pic was likely being taken from few days ago.

 

[LKJ86]

Well, by comparing with the chronological progression of the CVN-78.

The building of Type 003 is significantly different from Type 002 and CVN-78.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

The building of Type 003 is significantly different from Type 002 and CVN-78.

Indeed, that's why it will spend much less time in the dry dock.

 

[samsara]

Indeed, that's why it will spend much less time in the dry dock.

And I even imagine it will be amazing if it's possible that the module parts for the subsequent carrier in JNCX have been in production in some location, thus as soon as the 003 is launched into the water, the next one can start all over again in that dry dock. In this case one shipyard can accelerate its carrier production, one after another steadily. If it is the case, within just four years, how many large carriers can JNCX produce single-handedly?

Have any idea when Dalian will start its own portion of the new, large carrier?

 

[LKJ86]

Have any idea when Dalian will start its own portion of the new, large carrier?

The only advantage of Dalian shipyard is to near Bohai Sea, by comparing with Jiangnan-Changxing shipyard.