China set to launch third aircraft carrier in 2021

[xizhimen]

China set to launch third aircraft carrier in 2021​

DECEMBER 30, 2020 22:42 IST

Sanya: In this photo taken Dec. 17, 2019 and released Dec. 27, 2019 by Xinhua News Agency, the Shandong aircraft carrier is docked at a naval port in Sanya in southern China's Hainan Province. | Photo Credit: AP

Beijing is pushing forward with its military modernisation plans amid territorial and maritime disputes​

The launching of China’s third and largest aircraft carrier is likely to take place next year, State media in China reported on Wednesday, with a renewed push to take forward military modernisation plans amid a number of territorial and maritime disputes.

China one year ago launched its second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, which was the first to be built at home. It joined the Liaoning, which was developed by retrofitting a Soviet-era cruiser and commissioned in 2012. The Shandong, which has already been deployed in the Taiwan Straits and in the South China Sea, is likely to be combat ready next year.

Two larger aircraft carriers are being built at the Jiangnan Shipyard near Shanghai, the first of which is likely to be launched in 2021, the Global Times reported on Wednesday. This means it could be commissioned into service and be combat ready by 2023.

This will be China’s first that has an integrated electric propulsion system, an upgrade from its Soviet-modelled carriers, as well as an electromagnetic launch system for aircraft. Chinese strategic experts have previously said the PLA Navy is working towards six aircraft carriers, with two likely to be deployed in China’s near seas, including for the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea, two for the western Pacific and two for the Indian Ocean.

The Global Times report said “modernising will continue... after an unsettling 2020”…and it noted the “major roles” played by the military in “the China-India border, the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits”. The Shandong this year was deployed to sail through the Taiwan Straits and also in the South China Sea, where tensions with the U.S. have flared.

Next year will also see the maiden flight of a new “aircraft carrier-based” stealth fighter, developed from the fifth-generation FC-31, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the newspaper, while the J-20 stealth fighter jet with domestically developed engines would also make its debut next year.

Political statement​

The launch of the carrier would be one of the highlights for the People’s Liberation Army in 2021, a politically important year in China when the ruling Communist Party will mark its centenary in July, an event around which its launch may be tied.

China’s media identified the border with India, the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea as hotspots, with tensions rising in 2020 and expected to continue in the new year.

An article in the Global Times quoted several Chinese strategic experts as expecting tense relations to continue in the new year, although the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) had, in the newspaper's view, somewhat cooled with both sides holding several rounds of military-level talks aimed at disengagement.

Lin Minwang, a professor with the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, told the newspaper "the Modi administration has no intentions of fixing ties with China”.

Talks to disengage have, however, been slow-moving and China hasn’t shown willingness to return to the status quo prior to this summer’s tensions, according to Indian officials. India has made clear that Chinese demands for India to withdraw first are untenable, and has called on Beijing to abide by past border agreements and to restore the status quo prior to the PLA’s multiple transgressions across the LAC starting in May.

China set to launch third aircraft carrier in 2021

Beijing is pushing forward with its military modernisation plans amid territorial and maritime disputes

www.thehindu.com

 

[Waz]

Next year will also see the maiden flight of a new “aircraft carrier-based” stealth fighter, developed from the fifth-generation FC-31, Fu Qianshao,

China set to launch third aircraft carrier in 2021

Beijing is pushing forward with its military modernisation plans amid territorial and maritime disputes

www.thehindu.com

That's the little bit of news hiding amongst the big news, when in actual fact is the biggest news.

 

[xizhimen]

CHINA / MILITARY
China’s 3rd aircraft carrier expected to launch in 2021: reports
By Liu Xuanzun
Published: Jan 17, 2021 09:55 PM

What seems to be an aircraft carrier, covered by a red blanket, is seen in a report by China Central Television on Tuesday. Photo: Screenshot from China Central Television


China's third aircraft carrier, expected to be very different from the previous two with much larger displacement and featuring electromagnetic catapults, could be launched in 2021 and enter naval service around 2025, media reports predicted based on recent photos of the ship's construction site.

According to latest, openly available photos, blocks of the Type 003 aircraft carrier are being assembled in Shanghai and the general outline of the warship is already identifiable, Ordnance Industry Science Technology, a Chinese defense industry magazine, said in a report published in its WeChat account on Saturday.

After all the blocks are put together, the upper structures will be installed, the report said, noting that since the blocks are built in advance, the assembly and the outfitting work will take much less time compared with China's second aircraft carrier.

The current status indicates that the Type 003 could be only a few months away from its launch before the end of 2021, the magazine predicted.

After this the carrier will undertake outfitting work, be installed with equipment including radar and sensor devices, conduct tests and embark on sea trials, which could take about two years, meaning the warship could join naval service in 2024 or 2025, the report said.

Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) also expects the country's third aircraft carrier to make its public debut in 2021.

In a report on Tuesday, CCTV showed what seems to be an aircraft carrier covered by a red blanket in computer-generated imagery, with a caption saying "We expect in 2021."

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday that the construction of the blocks are wrapped up and all that is left is the completion of assembly in the dock.

"2021 is a year full of expectations, including the Type 003 aircraft carrier and also the H-20 bomber. It is time for our technological development to bear fruit," Song said.

Citing measurements based on the photos, Ordnance Industry Science Technology said that the Type 003 is larger than China's second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, and boasts a similar size to the US' Kitty Hawk-class, displacing more than 80,000 tons. Some other foreign reports predicted an even larger displacement of 100,000 tons.

The new carrier is expected to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults to launch aircraft, replacing the ski jump method used on current Chinese carriers, the magazine said.

The Chinese military has yet to announce any details of its the third aircraft carrier.

China’s 3rd aircraft carrier expected to launch in 2021: reports - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn