At the end of July, the Ministry of National Defense of the PRC officially announced that it would begin testing its first own aircraft carrier in the near future. This 300-meter ship, now in the port of Dalian, was created on the basis of the empty hull of the aircraft carrier Varyag of project 1143.6, purchased from Ukraine in 1998. At the time of the deal, China announced that it would use the ship's hull as a floating casino, but work began to rebuild it in 2005. The Chinese military will use its first aircraft carrier for research and training purposes.
China's own program for the creation of aircraft-carrying ships has been implemented, according to some reports, for more than 20 years. Since there was no own design school in the PRC, Chinese engineers followed the already well-known path of copying foreign technologies and designs. The first swallow was the light aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, launched back in 1943 and serving first in the English and then in the Australian navy. The ship was decommissioned from the fleet in 1982, and already in 1985 it was acquired by one of the Chinese firms at a scrap price of only 1.4 million Australian dollars. Before putting the ship on pins and needles, Chinese engineers studied its design for over a year. The deck of the aircraft carrier in 1995 was used to train pilots of naval aviation. Prior to the acquisition of the aircraft carrier, pilots of special courses had to practice shortened takeoff and landing on a specially prepared hardened section of the road.
Also, the PRC almost got the aircraft carrier Clemenceau, which was being withdrawn from the French fleet, but the world-famous events in Tiananmen Square prevented the ship from getting it. But already in 1998, China was able to purchase from Ukraine the unfinished aircraft cruiser Varyag, project 1143.6 of the same type to the only Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov. The ship was sold for $ 20 million to the multi-purpose travel agency Chong Lot. By the time of the sale, the ship was in a 70% state of readiness. Under pressure from the United States, by the time of sale, all combat equipment was dismantled from the ship and the Chinese, in fact, only got the hull of the ship. But even he added to the knowledge box of Chinese engineers, because even the creation of such a floating platform is not an easy task. Even earlier, in 1994-1995, China was able to acquire two Project 1943.3 ships "Kiev" and "Minsk" intended to accommodate vertical take-off and landing aircraft and a helicopter group. The ships were also supposed to be floating amusement parks.
The first aircraft carrier of the PRC "Shi Lan", the former "Varyag" at the final stage of construction
The PRC followed the same path when developing its own carrier-based aircraft. It is assumed that in the near future the aviation group of Chinese aircraft carrier ships will consist of J-15 fighters, which are an unlicensed copy of the Russian Su-33. Back in 2003, China purchased from Ukraine 1 T-10K-7 test aircraft (hull number 89), which belonged to the installation batch of prototypes of the Su-33 carrier-based fighter. These aircraft were produced in 1990 for factory tests at the Nitka complex. This plane was out of order, so it remained on the territory of the Crimea, while the other 5 T-10Ks were ferried to Moscow in 1993.
In 2006, China acquired, and again in Ukraine, another carrier-based aircraft. One of the two Su-25 UTG planes that remained at the Novofedorovka airfield. Which is a training aircraft based on the Su-25UB with an installed hook. Its main purpose is to train pilots of carrier-based aircraft to take off and land on a special ground complex equipped with short take-off (inclined ramp-springboard) and landing (aerofinisher) devices. It is noteworthy that in this case, Ukraine sold a half-disassembled aircraft without tail and wings, while the second Su-25UTG, relatively combat-ready, refused to sell.
In addition, there is information about the testing of the naval version of the Chinese J-10 fighter. A brake hook was installed on this aircraft in order to adapt it to ship operation, and the wing planes were foldable. There is also information about the development of a twin-engine version of this aircraft with increased reliability. The capabilities of a sea-based air wing cannot be realized without a full-fledged DLRO aircraft. According to preliminary information, the development of such an aircraft is already underway. There are photographs on the network (although their authenticity is doubtful) which depict a similar aircraft with the PLA Air Force insignia, while the car is suspiciously similar to the Yak-44. The radar installed on this machine is most likely an analogue of the Israeli EL / M-2075 radar from Elta. The radar has a circular field of view and is designed to detect and track targets at a distance of up to 450 km.
At the same time, it would be wrong to believe that China is only engaged in copying and bringing to mind other people's developments. Currently, the press is increasingly reporting about the laying of two aircraft carriers in China, which will be assembled from scratch at Chinese shipyards.
The former "Varyag" named "Shi Lan" and hull number 83 has already been completed. It is planned that the ship will be used as a training ship for the training of pilots and maintenance personnel of carrier-based aviation, as well as for testing new platforms and equipment systems that are subsequently to be installed on Chinese aircraft carriers Type 085 and Type 089. In addition, there is a possibility that Shi Lan "will be additionally equipped for the Center for reconnaissance, tracking, computer collection, control and communication systems.
According to the plans of the Chinese command, by 2015, the PRC fleet will include 3 aircraft carriers. The Shi Lan and two aircraft carriers of Project 089 have already been put into operation. It is assumed that these ships will have a displacement of 48-64,000 tons and will be equipped with a conventional power plant with a capacity of up to 200,000 hp. Steam turbines TB-21, produced by the Chinese company "Ludongchan" and allowing the aircraft carrier to reach speeds of up to 30 knots, or Ukrainian gas turbine engines, for example DA80 / DN80 (export version of the UGT-25000 engine), are manufactured at the Zarya plant. -Mashproekt ". China has already bought similar engines and equipped them with Luyang II and Guangzhou class destroyers.
After the completion in 2015 of the construction of the spirit of aircraft carriers of project 089 on the yards in the city of Jiangnan, it is also planned to lay the first Chinese aircraft carrier with a nuclear power plant, with a total displacement of up to 93,000 tons. This aircraft carrier, named Type 085 in terms of its armament and capabilities, will be similar to the unfinished Soviet heavy aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk and comparable to the US strike aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. According to preliminary estimates of experts, the aircraft carrier will be equipped with equipment for aircraft ejection takeoff. Moreover, not a steam, but a magnetic catapult will be used, since there is experience in the development of such systems in China (magnetic levitation trains in Shanghai).
Nuclear aircraft carrier type 085, alleged appearance
The reality of the plans for the construction of aircraft carriers is indirectly confirmed by the purchase in Russia in 2006 of 4 sets of deck equipment: under-deck cable aerosols, interlocking nets, a retainer and other auxiliary equipment, including 4 sets of brake hooks for Su-33 fighters. The first set is planned to be used for structured analysis and possible copying with subsequent installation on a ground training complex. The second set was most likely mounted on the Shi Liang, while 3 and 4 are intended for installation on the first two aircraft carriers, Type 089.
In connection with such plans of the PRC to build its own aircraft carrier fleet, a completely natural question arises of what will happen when China receives this fleet. It is already quite clear that this fleet is not being built for parades at all. At first glance, it poses the greatest threat to Taiwan, but on the other hand, these forces are excessive, and for the war with the United States, which, most likely, will side with Taiwan, on the contrary, are too small. And the return of Taiwan by non-violent means is no longer seen as an unattainable goal. The PRC already has good prerequisites for this, first of all, economic ones.
Therefore, the second and even the most likely direction of its use is the territories located in the north of China. Namely, the sparsely populated Russian Far East, which possesses enormous natural resources, which are so necessary for the rapidly growing Chinese economy. Unlike Taiwan, the European Union, the United States and even Belarus are unlikely to risk a quarrel over Russia with China. In fact, the PRC's hands are already untied, they just do not have the necessary argument of force.
Russian Su-33 (above) and its twin J15 sibling in flight (below)
Russia, mired in corruption with an army weakened by endless reforms, can oppose China with only one element of deterrence - nuclear weapons. However, here it is worth thinking about what the likelihood is that this weapon will actually be used. Firstly, China itself is a nuclear power, which can give, if not adequate, then quite serious answer. Secondly, its population is approaching 1.5 billion people, and therefore the threshold of sensitivity to such strikes is much higher than the Russian one. Thirdly, factories of almost all the world's companies are located in China. Who wants to see Russian warheads start falling on their property? Such a blow will turn out not so much as an ecological one, but as a severe economic shock for the whole world.
Do not think that our Far Eastern neighbor is an exceptionally friendly and peaceful country. There are no friends in politics, the greatness of other countries throughout history has been achieved through the weakening of others, for example, the closest neighbors. Therefore, Russia's only defense in this situation was and remains a strong army and navy, which must ensure the security not only of borders and territory, but also of our natural resources. China is well aware of this and is strenuously strengthening the armed forces; it cannot be said in full measure that the same strengthening is taking place in Russia.
