China Reportedly Building 3 Aircraft Carriers (Rumor yet to be confirmed)

http://www.strategypage.com/fyeo/howtomakewar/default.asp?target=htnavai.htm&base=htnavai&Prev=0&BeginCnt=31 ^

[My2Cents]

That's the bad news. The good news is, the carriers are based on the French design.

[martin_fierro]

Buncha junk.

[Bikers4Bush]

The design that scuttles itself at the first sign of enemy ships or the other one that just capsizes and has a big white flag painted on the bottom?

[af_vet_rr]

Would not surprise me, they are hot to trot in space, stands to reason they aren't going to ignore the sea.

[Taylor42]

I can't wait for them to try real naval aviation. Boy are they in for a few surprises.

But I expect they have copies of all of our NATOPS manuals...

[Semper Paratus]

I can't wait for them to try real naval aviation. Boy are they in for a few surprises.

Yeah considered the late aviator Wong Wei was one of their aces.

[NorseWood]

Heads up, Jeff Head!

[dixierat]

Nice of them to build the first significant targets our navy has had since WWII.....

[longtermmemmory]

The Chinese bought the USSR's last and only jet aircraft carrier. It stands to reason they would build more.

[Filibuster_60]

If these rumors prove to be true, the most disturbing thing is how it challenges the conventional wisdom that China's given up on aircraft carriers for the time being. I remember a while back People's Daily English version actually ran an article explaining why the PLAN won't acquire carriers in the near future. More recently the Taiwanese press has reported China's seeking small helicopter carriers as a stopgap measure. We'll see soon enough what's really been going on.

[AngryJawa]

The local fish population will be very happy to hear that they have a couple of new artificial reefs coming their way.

[Enterprise]

The Three A/C names:

1. Mai Ding Dong

2. One Hung Low

3. Yu Fat Too

[Armedanddangerous]

That thing is two Harpoon Missles away from being an artificial reef for divers to swim though.

[Modernman]

Chicom Aircraft Carrier Ping.

Do you think they'll be able to make this work? Carrier aviation is tougher than it looks.

[Ronin]

NATOPS manuals are only a part of the equation.

The real strength of U.S. carrier aviation is the living history and experience in countless areas that is handed down, squid to squid, officer to officer, pilot to pilot in an unbroken chain going back to the old USS Langley.

No other nation even comes close.

Still, it will be interesting to see what the Chinese do with these things. Not that I expect them to be very effective, at least, not for many years.

[Captain Rhino]

Wow, a carrier without assigned air assets.

So I guess any carrier-capable fighter or attack jet stick in the PLAN will be expected to just show up full qualified to trap and launch from any of the three carriers. Mix and match. With and without ordnance, day, night, NVG, in all weather conditions (above flight minimums). And they will gain and maintain their at-sea flight quals by ???

This is an extremely dangerous business even with dedicated carrier air groups. Unfortunately, the Chinese may be in for some unpleasant surprises. Wonder how many pilots they will kill, aircraft they will destroy and how much damage they will do to the ships before they realize buying a dedicated air group is actually cheaper. (Nice power protection bonus when they do that too.)

But who knows. With their reliance on the extensive carrier operation experience of the Russians and their own potent submarine operational experience, they could be a serious menace in the western Pacific region. ;-)

[Filibuster_60]

These aren't carriers like we're used to. Seems to me they won't be of much use more than 500 miles off the Chinese coast. Area and sea denial, not power projection, would appear to be their mission. On the other hand, if the steam catapult feature is indeed being added, it would indicate they do intend to operate at least a few heavy strike planes.

[Fierce Allegiance]

This may be what is driving steel prices sky high lately. China is buying up ALL of the us scrap steel available.

[hchutch]

"I have always been here."