China tests first home-built aircraft carrier in move to ‘mighty people’s navy’

China’s first home-built aircraft carrier will boost naval force in settling maritime territorial claims and protecting shipping routes.

China's new aircraft carrier 001A. Picture: Getty Images.

China’s first home-built aircraft carrier is preparing for its debut sea trial as the country takes a step closer to its ambitions for a “mighty people’s navy” that can operate far from shore.

Areas in the Bohai Sea off China’s northernmost coast have been cordoned off for “military missions” until the end of this week. The restricted areas, as announced by the Liaoning maritime safety administration, are close to the shipyard where the carrier is being built.

The 315-metre vessel, known as Type 001A, is a symbol of China’s naval ambition. Beijing has declared its goal of becoming a leading deep-sea force by 2025 to settle maritime territorial claims and protect shipping routes. It is hoped that the vessel will enter service in 2019, or even by the end of this year, when it will be added alongside the country’s only carrier currently in service, Liaoning. That carrier, bought in 2012, is a refurbished, Soviet-era vessel and is used as a training ship.

Beijing is eager to build its own carriers and has embarked on a largely secretive program to construct several vessels. President Xi, on a trip to inspect the naval force in the South China Sea this month, said: “The mission of building a mighty people’s navy has never been more urgent than it is today.”

The carrier is estimated to have cost £3.4 billion ($6.2bn) to build and will feature a more advanced radar system, larger displacement and a ski-jump ramp for shorter aircraft takeoffs compared with the Liaoning.

However, its capabilities remain behind the most advanced western carriers. The Gerald R Ford class US carrier launched last year, for example, is 18 metres longer at 333 metres, and can hold more than 75 aircraft, compared with a maximum of 48 on the Chinese carrier. Britain’s Elizabeth class carrier can hold 70 planes.

A second domestically produced carrier, the Type 002, is believed to be under construction in a shipyard in Shanghai. Little is known about the vessel, but experts believe that it will be conventionally powered with a steam catapult launch system for aircraft. China also plans to build a third carrier, probably nuclear-powered.

“We are second to no one in our capabilities in building carriers,” said Liu Zheng, party chief for the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company, which built the Type 001A.

“We are capable of building a carrier that is more complex and bigger, and we hope the country can give us a grander mission.”

He offered an update on Type 001A on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in Beijing last month. “All the equipment and devices on the carrier are in the joint debugging stage and the main engine has been powered,” he told state television. “In 2018 we will present a surprise to the Chinese people.”

An unnamed source told the South China Morning Post this month that the maiden trial might “just involve turning a circle in Bohai Bay, making sure every deck under the water does not suffer leaks.”

The source added: “If no leaks are found, the carrier may sail further to make it a longer voyage, probably two or three days.”

The Times