On December 17, 2019, a second aircraft carrier named Shandong was added to the PRC fleet. The new ship became the second for China. According to this indicator, the naval forces of the PRC have already bypassed the Russian fleet. At the same time, both the first and second Chinese aircraft carriers are still the development of Soviet projects. In particular, the project 1143.6 Varyag heavy aircraft carrier, the closest relative of the only Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov of project 1143.5. The latter, unfortunately, is most famous for its victories over the naval infrastructure and the Russian budget.
Towards the first aircraft carriers
The first Chinese aircraft carrier was named Liaoning and entered the PLA Navy in September 2012. The ship was a completed aircraft carrier Varyag, which China purchased from Ukraine for $ 25 million, and Beijing spent about $ 5 million on towing the ship from Nikolaev to Dalyan. Structurally, the first Chinese aircraft carrier is as close as possible to the same type "Admiral Kuznetsov", the main differences are associated only with the use of electronic weapons and combat systems made in China.
The second Chinese aircraft carrier, which entered service under the name Shandong, is still close in design to the Soviet aircraft-carrying cruisers of Project 1143 Krechet. Externally, the ships are very similar, while the Chinese version is slightly longer, and its total displacement is greater than that of the Admiral Kuznetsov. The new aircraft carrier "Shandong" received an updated composition of electronic weapons, including a radar with AFAR, a new form of superstructure and an increased air group. It is believed that China was helped to build both ships by a set of design documentation for aircraft carrier 1143.6, which Beijing acquired from JSC Nevskoe PKB back in the 1990s. According to the bmpd blog, the cost of this transaction for the purchase of technical documentation for project 1143.6 was only 840 thousand dollars.
The first Chinese aircraft carrier "Liaoning" is an aircraft-carrying cruiser "Varyag" completed in China. China purchased the ship from Ukraine at the stage of technical readiness of about 70 percent. The purchase took place back in 1998, but the ship reached the Dalian shipyard only on March 3, 2002, and the completion and testing process took 10 years. The ship was finally accepted into the fleet only in September 2012. The second Chinese aircraft carrier, Shandong, was built faster. The first work on the construction of the ship began in November 2013, the construction of the hull in the dry dock - March 2015, launching - April 25, 2017, entering the fleet - December 17, 2019. The next Chinese aircraft carrier, known so far as Project Type 003, is to become a new generation ship. It is reported that ships of this type will get rid of the springboard on the take-off deck, receive an electromagnetic catapult and the ability to launch heavier and more advanced aircraft, including the fifth-generation Chengdu J-20 multirole fighters.
Thanks to the acquisition of an unfinished aircraft carrier in Ukraine for a penny, and technical documentation in Russia, China in a short time has become a country capable of building large aircraft carriers and carrier-based fighters for them. In the shortest possible time, the PRC became the fifth country in the world that is able to independently build an aircraft carrier designed to accommodate aircraft not vertical, but conventional takeoff and landing. Thanks to access to still Soviet technologies, Beijing has already received two combat-ready aircraft carriers, and by the mid-2020s, the PLA fleet should replenish an aircraft carrier with an electromagnetic catapult and a displacement of about 80 thousand tons. At the same time, it is possible that without resorting to Soviet technologies, which Beijing got practically for nothing after the collapse of the USSR, China still could not even come close to ships of the level of "Admiral Kuznetsov".
Combat capabilities of the aircraft carrier "Shandong"
Despite the rethinking of Soviet developments, the Chinese Shandong still cannot hide its kinship with the Admiral Kuznetsov and other ships of a similar project. This external similarity cannot be hidden anywhere, with the main changes affecting the internal structure and equipment installed on the ship. Unlike the Liaoning and Kuznetsov, the new Chinese aircraft carrier has slightly grown in size. The maximum length of the ship reached 315 meters, width - 75 meters, and the total displacement increased to 70 thousand tons. For comparison, the total displacement of the "Admiral Kuznetsov" is about 60 thousand tons. At the same time, a more compact "island" appeared on the "Shandong", which made it possible to increase the useful deck area of the ship. The maximum speed of the new Chinese aircraft carrier is 31 knots (about 57 km / h).
A common feature for both Liaoning, Shandong and Admiral Kuznetsov is still a massive bow ramp. This design on board the aircraft carrier has both quite obvious advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of this design include its simplicity and low cost, the disadvantages are the impossibility of using heavy aircraft on board the ship, the springboard imposes restrictions on the load of flying vehicles. The future Chinese aircraft carrier of the Type 003 project, which is to become part of the PLA Navy until 2025, will receive an electromagnetic catapult, as on American-made aircraft carriers. At the same time, some Western experts doubt the competence of Chinese designers in this technology. Whether this is true or not, we will be able to find out in the near future.
Even at the stage of completing the aircraft carrier Liaoning, the Chinese abandoned the Soviet concept, which implied the deployment of powerful offensive weapons on board aircraft-carrying cruisers. Both Chinese ships are full-fledged aircraft carriers, which carry only defensive weapons to repel air attacks. Both ships are intended to operate as part of aircraft carrier strike groups, where escort ships are responsible for their reliable anti-submarine and air defense. Fortunately, the Chinese industry makes it possible to build modern frigates and corvettes in marketable quantities, launching dozens of warships a year. At the same time, the abandonment of offensive missile weapons allowed Chinese designers to expand aircraft carrier capabilities, concentrating more fuel, aviation ammunition and aircraft themselves, which are the main striking force of the ship, on board.
While the first Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning could accommodate up to 24 Shenyang J-15 aircraft, the second aircraft carrier Shandong increased their number to 36. In addition to multipurpose carrier-based fighters, various helicopters, including projects Z-9 and Z-18, can be based on board the aircraft carrier. It is worth noting that the J-15 carrier-based fighter itself is an unlicensed copy of the domestic Su-33. The planes have an almost completely identical glider. Back in 2001, China purchased one of the prototypes of the Su-33 carrier-based fighter also from Ukraine, finishing work on its own prototype only in 2010. The aircraft has a maximum speed of up to 2500 km / h and is equipped with 12 weapons suspension points. The maximum combat load is estimated at 6 tons, while Western experts believe that when fully refueled using a springboard, an aircraft can carry no more than two tons of ammunition. In turn, according to the statements of the Chinese side, the combat load of the aircraft is comparable to the American F / A-18 fighter. The main anti-ship weapons of the J-15 fighters are YJ-91 anti-ship missiles with a range of 50-120 km (warhead weight - 165 kg) and YJ-62 with a flight range of up to 400 km (warhead weight - 300 kg).
The Shandong aircraft carrier's defensive armament is represented by three Type 1130 anti-aircraft artillery systems. Each such complex is a 30-mm automatic artillery mount with 11 barrels, which makes it one of the deadliest and fastest-firing in its class. The rate of fire of such an installation reaches 10 thousand rounds per minute. According to the assurances of the Chinese side, the installation allows you to hit anti-ship missiles flying at speeds up to Mach 4 with a probability of 96 percent. The height of the destruction of targets is up to 2.5 kilometers, the interception range is up to 3.5 kilometers. Also, the composition of the aircraft carrier's onboard armament is represented by three HQ-10 short-range anti-aircraft missile systems. Each such installation is designed to accommodate 18 short-range missiles with a range of target destruction at a distance of up to 9 km.
The commissioning of the second aircraft carrier expanded the combat capabilities of the PLA Navy
The commissioning of the second aircraft carrier, Shandong, expanded the combat capabilities of the PLA Navy. It is worth noting that in December 2019, China became only the third country in the world, after the United States and Great Britain, which is able to exhibit two aircraft carrier groups in the oceans. The presence of two aircraft carriers, the first of which was initially positioned as an experimental and training one, but in a few years after commissioning turned into a full-fledged combat ship, expands the capabilities of the Chinese fleet, making the strategy of its use more flexible.
In addition to the fact that China is among the three countries that can simultaneously operate two aircraft carrier strike groups, Chinese admirals can always send one of the ships for repair or modernization. While one ship is under repair, the other will continue to serve. Currently, the Russian fleet is deprived of such an opportunity. The only Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, is likely to return to service no earlier than 2022, and this is with the most favorable options. In the worst case, repair work after a major fire that occurred on board Kuznetsov on December 12, 2019, will be postponed indefinitely.
The presence of two aircraft-carrying ships relieves the Chinese fleet of the problems that the Russian fleet is experiencing today. Russian admirals cannot abandon the only aircraft carrier, since the laying of a new aircraft carrier is planned no earlier than 2030. All this time, Russian military pilots of naval aviation regiments need to train somewhere, working only with the NITKA ground training simulator is not enough. For China, the presence of two aircraft carriers ready to go to sea is very important precisely in the aspect of continuous training of carrier-based aviation pilots. The Chinese industry and engineers gained experience in the design and construction of large aircraft-carrying ships, and the fleet gained the opportunity to train deck-based aircraft pilots and to work out the ways of using aircraft carrier groups. These are, perhaps, the main dividends that the PLA Navy is drawing today from the exploitation and rethinking of the Soviet design legacy.
