Beijing, June 17 (BNA): Beijing today launched a new generation aircraft carrier, the first of its kind to be designed and built in China, in a significant achievement in its quest to expand the scope and strength of its naval fleet.
State media reports said the Type 003 carrier, dubbed Fujian, left its dry dock at a shipyard outside Shanghai in the morning and was tied up at a nearby berth.
State Broadcasting Corporation (CCTV) showed marines assembled standing under the huge ship, while water jets were flying above its deck, flying multicolored ribbons and emitting colored smoke.
Equipped with the latest weapons and aircraft launch technologies, the Type 003’s capabilities are believed to rival those of Western carriers, as Beijing seeks to transform its naval fleet, already the world’s largest, into a multi-tanker force, AP reports.
“This is an important milestone for China’s military-industrial complex,” said Ridwan Rahmat, a Singapore-based analyst with defense intelligence firm Guinness.
“This shows that Chinese engineers are now able to manufacture the full range of surface fighters associated with modern naval warfare, including cruisers, frigates, destroyers, amphibious assault ships and now an aircraft carrier,” he said.
“This ability to build a highly complex warship from the ground up will inevitably lead to many spin-offs and benefits for the Chinese shipbuilding industry.”
The first Chinese tanker was a re-routed Soviet ship, the second built in China but based on a Soviet design. Both were built to use a so-called “jump-on” launch method for aircraft, with a ramp at the end of the short runway to help planes take off.
The Model 003 uses a catapult launch, which experts said appears to be an electromagnetic type system like the one originally developed by the US Navy.
The Xinhua News Agency confirmed that Fujian used the electromagnetic system in a report released on Friday.
Such a system puts less pressure on the aircraft than older steam catapult launch systems, and the use of catapults meant that the ship would be able to launch a variety of aircraft, which is essential for China to be able to offer the Navy. Rahmat said the force is in greater range.
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