China to unveil its most menacing warship to the world this weekend

Satellite photos of a historic shipyard in Shanghai have uncovered a startling military project China has spent decades working on in secret.

The tools have been cleared. The bunting has been strung. The gold stars are blazing against the red background of enormous national flags. It’s a sure sign China’s first supercarrier is ready to launch.

Satellite photos of Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China, show the dry dock where the unnamed aircraft carrier has spent the past five years under construction has been flooded.

The June 14 images show that the 318m long warship – slightly smaller than the 330m long USS Ford-class aircraft carriers – could be launched as early as this weekend.

New satellite image taken yesterday by @Planet showing the new Type 003 aircraft carrier. The dry dock was recently flooded, indicating that a launch is likely imminent. Decorations and flags have been installed on the ship. pic.twitter.com/Jjcwnilx3I

— Benjamin Pittet (@COUPSURE) June 16, 2022

Its deck has been cleaned and painted, and its enormous aircraft-carrying elevators raised.

While Type 003 does not have nuclear propulsion like the USS Ford, China claims it has similar advanced electromagnetic catapult technology. These were seen in the satellite photographs with their blast deflectors raised and rows of decorations placed along their tracks.

And the enormous stage and awnings erected at the head of the dock are a dead giveaway.

🇨🇳 @SavunmaTekno : 🇨🇳 Final view of Type 003 under construction at #Shanghai Shipyard. The deck is equipped with flags & ready to be launched.
Trying to build a strong & modern #navy, #China is taking firm steps to realize its dream. pic.twitter.com/Y755qVmG3N

— A Deniz Engelhardt (@cover_up8d) June 15, 2022

Independent security analyst Alex Luck said the launch of Type 003 was “a story 52 years in the works”.

“While Liaoning and Shandong were important pieces to get the Chinese aircraft carrier game going for real, they were in a way always fillers until the true aspiration, a CATOBAR carrier, was realised, after two previous stillborn attempts,” he tweeted.

While Liaoning and Shandong were important pieces to get the Chinese aircraft carrier-game going for real, they were in a way always fillers until the true aspiration, a CATOBAR carrier, was realised, after two previous stillborn attempts, with projects 707, then 891.

— Alex Luck (@AlexLuck9) June 16, 2022

And while today's event is a significant achievement all by its own, we also await clarification on the future. What will Type 004 look like? Nuclear propulsion? How much larger and how different (cats, elevators etc)? Or will there be a second Type 003? And of course, how soon? pic.twitter.com/cq9CsEROYM

— Alex Luck (@AlexLuck9) June 16, 2022

It hasn’t been an entirely easy birth.

The carrier had been due for launch on June 3 – the day of the Dragon Boat Festival and the 157th anniversary of the Jiangnan Shipyard.

But Shandong’s strict COVID-19 outbreak lockdown appears to have curtailed those plans.

Status symbol

Like the big-gun battleships of World War I and II, aircraft carriers have become menacing symbols of a nation’s economic and military might.

“The PRC’s (People’s Republic of China’s) aircraft carriers and planned follow-on carriers, once operational, will extend air defence coverage beyond the range of coastal and shipboard missile systems and will enable task group operations at increasingly longer ranges,” the US Defense Department reported in November.

And Type 003 is the first to truly rival the US Navy’s 100,000 ton nuclear-powered behemoths, of which it has 11.

While China’s ship is not nuclear-powered, it is said to be the world’s first aircraft carrier with an integrated propulsion system (IPS). This uses turbines and generators to produce enough electrical power to drive the ship’s propellers, radars – and electromagnetic catapults.

Type 003 also will be China’s first aircraft carrier equipped with a Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) launch system.

This means catapults can rapidly fling heavily laden aircraft into the air. And its large flight deck and modern arresting wires should be able to catch them again readily.

Only the United States and France also have this capability.

Type 003’s deck space is marginally less than that of the largest US carriers. But it’s destined to receive an air group capable of confronting the best the US has to offer.

A long march

Despite being launched, Type 003 is not yet ready for service.

Space has been cleared at a nearby pier for the ship to be moored as it spends the next year being fitted out with smaller components – such as cabins, kitchens, command centres and weapons systems.

China has made dramatic progress in preparing for this moment over the past decade.

China Navy Expeditionary Battle Group
(Images via wb/小西造车) pic.twitter.com/jRujxm5sy5

— 彩云香江 (@louischeung_hk) December 15, 2021

The J-15 “Flying Shark” navalised version of Russia’s Su-33 “Flanker” fighter has been operating off the ski ramps of Liaoning and Shandong since 2012. But the heavy twin-engined aircraft faced tight weight limitations on takeoff and landing from their small decks.

This restricts how much fuel and weaponry they could carry.

Type 003’s new CATOBAR system overcomes these problems.

Indications are the J-15 is also set to be replaced.

Latest images of J-35 😎 pic.twitter.com/lcadaIys17

— 彩云香江 (@louischeung_hk) May 22, 2022

China’s F-35 stealth fighter equivalent – the Shenyang J-35 “Gyrfalcon” has been observed undergoing flight trials. Models and computer-generated images of Type 003 also show the fighter on its decks.

Another advantage of having a flat deck is that propeller-driven aircraft can land and take off. This means Type 003 can carry early-warning radar KJ-600 aircraft, unlike its older cousins.

Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer. | @JamieSeidel