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| China's 1st indigenous Carrier under-construction (late 2016) |
By: Mike Yeo
MELBOURNE, Australia — China’s second aircraft carrier, but its first locally built, has been floated off its dry dock, and its formal launch appears imminent, even as the country continues development work on other aspects of its carrier program.
The floating of the ship began on the morning of April 23 with a small ceremony, which also likely served to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the founding of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN. Recent photos show that the hull and superstructure of the ship have been fully painted; however, the ship, which is rumored but not confirmed to be named Shandong, has yet to be officially launched.
The new carrier is based closely on the PLAN’s sole operational aircraft carrier, Liaoning, with an angled flight deck and a ski jump for short takeoff but arrested recovery, or STOBAR, operations. The most significant change from the Liaoning would, however, be the reconfiguration of the phased array radar panels, with those on the new ship facing diagonally outward on both sides of bridge fore and aft.
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