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PLAN Liaoning Carrier ( Credits- Internet Image) As China launches it's newest carrier, questions has been asked as to the role it's first Aircraft Carrier The Liaoning will play for the future. It can be seen that China is taking a cautious step in development of Carrier ops. The Diplomat takes an indepth look at the future of Liaoning with the Chinese navy ( To read the entire article, click here .......)

PLAN Aircraft Liaoning ( Source-Wikimedia Commons / Author- Simon Yang) Source- The National Interest Author- Peter Navarro “Anonymous sources within the U.S. Navy’s senior command have revealed that the U.S. is not concerned over any immediate threat from the introduction of China’s latest aircraft carrier in the Pacific, the Liaoning.” China’s only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, is a great source of national pride. It is also a grim symbol of the arrogance of an American defense establishment that largely dismisses Beijing’s under-sized training carrier as an antiquated bucket of rusty Soviet bolts.  The prevailing Pentagon opinion is not wrong, at least when viewed through the keyhole of tactics and short-term thinking. The Liaoning is indeed a refurbished Soviet carrier originally launched in 1988 that the Chinese picked up for a rusting song from Ukraine in 1998. The Liaoning is also a bit undersized. Its deck is just shy of 100 feet shorter than an ...

Chinese Liaoning Aircraft Carrier ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Simon Yang) Source- The National Interest  Author- Dave Majumdar The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) aircraft carriers won’t be able to conduct blue water operations in the way the U.S. Navy’s flattops do. Nor will the PLAN have global power projection capabilities akin to those afforded by America’s fleet of supercarriers. That’s the assessment of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency. “The aircraft carriers that they’re building will not have the same blue open ocean capability that our aircraft carriers have,” U.S. Marine Corps. Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the House Armed Service Committee on March 2. “Nor will it be able to execute air operations the way we use our carriers.” Chinese aircraft carriers—at least initially—will be focused on local operations in the seas surrounding China, Stewart said. Most of China’s eff...

Chinese carrier Liaoning ( Image credits- VOA) Source- The Diplomat Author- Koh Swee Lean Collin The international media landed itself a gift shortly before ushering in 2016, when it transpired at a recent Chinese Defense Ministry press conference that Beijing’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, and the second one for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) after the Liaoning entered service since September 25, 2012, is currently under construction. A Surprise? The announcement is hardly a surprise, given that open-source intelligence, academic and media commentaries have long reported on China’s ongoing aircraft carrier program. Even Chinese reports (see here and here) have hinted at PLAN’s aspirations to operate more than one carrier. The carrier was even dubbed “Project 001A,” and Internet photos of what appears to be the assembly of modules for an aircraft carrier-like platform at a Dalian shipyard have circulated. Chinese officials, including those from...

PLAN Air Craft Carrier Liaoning ( Credits- Internet image) Source- The National Interest Author- James Goldrick China has at last formally acknowledged that it has a new aircraft carrier under construction, the first to be built in China and the second in the People's Liberation Army-Navy's order of battle. The PLA Navy appears to have embarked on a substantial carrier program, probably with the intention of creating four and perhaps up to six carrier battle groups (Chinese commentators have publicly acknowledged the need for at least three units in order to have an effective carrier capability). The rehabilitated ex-Russian carrier Liaoning, designated Carrier 16, has been the start of this effort, although its reliability has yet to be confirmed. Experience gained with the ship will be used to evolve the follow-on units which are entering production. However, the challenge involved with these new carriers will not so much be the build, but the design. T...

Chinese carrier Liaoning ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Simon Yang) Source- The Diplomat Author- Shinnon Tiazzi A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that China is currently building an aircraft carrier in Dalian, a port city in northeastern China. The carrier will be China’s second, but the first to be indigenously-built. China’s current aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was Russian-made and purchased from Ukraine. The Liaoning was totally refitted by Beijing and commissioned in 2012.   This isn’t the first we’ve heard of China’s second aircraft carrier, but it’s the first time the Defense Ministry has official confirmed the project. Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun told the press that “relevant authority started the research and development of China’s second aircraft carrier, which is currently under independent design and construction.” He emphasized that the new carrier is home-grown — “designed independently by China.” ...

Chinese Air Craft Carrier Liaoning ( Credits- Internet image) Source- The National Interest Author- Harry J. Kazianis The People’s Republic of China: The only nation on Earth building not one but two “carrier-killer” missiles. Yet, China is also one of just a handful of countries who wants to build more carriers. Odd? Not exactly, if you know the history and why Beijing wants carriers in the first place. Indeed, there is a tremendous amount of publicly available information when it comes to Beijing’s carrier program, with the history of the program being completely fascinating. For example, in a recent article for U.S. Naval War College Review, Andrew Scobell, Michael McMahon and Cortez A. Cooper III explain the drivers behind the program, operational capacities and possible future directions. The full article is available here. Don’t have time to read the whole thing? No problem, I personally feel understanding the drivers of the program are key. With that said, ...

Credits- Internet image Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda 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. Specifi...

PLAN Air Craft Carrier Liaoning CV-16 ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Voice of America) Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar China may have started construction on its second aircraft carrier according to new satellite imagery. The images—which were obtained by the British defense trade journal IHS Jane’s from Airbus Defence and Space—shows that a new ship is under construction in the same dry dock that was used to refurbish the former Soviet carrier Varyag during its conversion into China’s Liaoning. This would be China’s first indigenous flattop—if it were indeed a carrier. The Jane’s analysis indicates that the ship might be between 558ft and 885ft long with a beam greater than 98ft. That’s a little small for a conventional aircraft carrier—and the Jane’s analysts note that they can’t conclusively say the new ship is a carrier. But that length—assuming the Jane’s analysts are correct—would be about the same as India’s Vikramaditya. The be...

Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- Eurasia Review Author- D. S Rajan / SAAG It is a known fact that the first aircraft carrier base of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is located at Dalian, in Liaoning province; the carrier ‘Liaoning’ was commissioned into China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy on September 25, 2012. Open information emanating from China now confirms the completion of construction of a second aircraft carrier base at Sanya, off Hainan Island. These events need examination from a broader perspective as they have potentials to generate questions of geo-political importance as in the following – how to contextualize the events in terms of changes happening in China’s naval strategy? What could be the likely implications of such changes for the military situation in the Asia- Pacific region which remains affected by an acute territorial contest between China and other nations in South and East China seas...