China’s Steps for Global Domination – Chinese 50K-Tonne First Homemade Aircraft Carrier Ready For Sea Trials
China’s first homemade aircraft carrier began sea trials on Sunday and it marks a historic step in the country’s mission to build a navy capable of rivaling the world’s leading maritime powers.
Keep on reading to know more.
Bigger and better
China’s first domestically made aircraft carrier began sea trials on Sunday.
The new aircraft carrier, temporarily named Type 001A, left its port in the northeastern city of Dalian is undergoing tests of its power system, according to state-run media outlet Xinhua. Further tests are expected to check radar and communication systems as well a leakage.
The 50,000-tonne ship will become the country’s second aircraft carrier and the first to be entirely built and designed inside of China, when it joins the navy sometime before 2020.
The ship, which is conventionally powered, has reportedly had weapons and other systems fitted since it was launched last year. It is expected to enter service later in 2018, a year ahead of schedule.
Source: Reuters
Experts said while the new aircraft carrier will dramatically boost China’s military power in the Asia region, its technology was still outdated and lagged far behind the world’s naval superpower, the United States.
“This is, in and of itself, not designed to be some frontal challenge to US power in the Asia Pacific, because it simply isn’t in the class of America’s aircraft carriers,” Sam Roggeveen, senior fellow at Sydney’s Lowy Institute, told CNN.
China’s first carrier, Liaoning, was a second-hand ship purchased in 1998 from Ukraine. The new ship is an upgrade to the Soviet-era carrier and will be able to carry 35 aircraft.
The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) previously confirmed that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is being developed and expected by 2025.
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