By Ankit Panda
China is working on its second aircraft carrier, the first to be indigenously built.
With little fanfare, China has probably started construction on its first indigenously-built aircraft carrier. Images from Chinese social media and satellite imagery from earlier this year, acquired by IHS Jane‘s 360, suggest that the new carrier has been under construction at the Dalian shipyard. The new carrier is reportedly using the same dry dock that was used to upgrade and refurbish the Varyag, a Soviet-designed and built Admiral Kuznetsov-class multirole carrier, into the Liaoning, the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s sole aircraft carrier. The Liaoning was commissioned three years ago, in September, 2012. Analysts believe that China is planning to field a four-carrier navy. An image posted by a Weibo user earlier this year (above) purports to show progress on the carrier at the Dalian shipyard.
Satellite imagery analysis by Jane‘s reveals some features of the carrier’s physical dimensions. Specifically, the report notes that the dry dock support layout suggests the final carrier will have a hull around 270 meters with a beam of around 35 meters. Imagery in February showed a hull length of “150 to 170 m in length with a beam of about 30 m.” Preparations for the carrier have been ongoing at the Dalian shipyard since at least late-February this year, which is when Jane‘s first acquired satellite imagery. For comparison, the United States’ 100,000 ton Nimitz-class supercarriers feature a hull length of 333 meters with an overall beam of 77 meters and waterline beam measurement of 41 meters. The new Chinese carrier will be smaller than any carrier currently operated by the United States. In all likelihood, it’s final dimensions and tonnage may rival India’s ongoing second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2), the INS Vishal. The Vishal, currently in its design phase, will displace 65,000 tons is 300 meters in length with a beam of 61 meters.
Read the full story at The Diplomat