Jiangnan Shipyard released the world's first 240,000-ton nuclear-powered container carrier, which can last for 20 years with primary fuel, and adopts China's self-developed small nuclear reactor technology. It is also the world's largest nuclear-powered transport ship. It indicates that China's small nuclear reactor technology has been solved, and we have basically crossed the last technical threshold for building a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. 
In accordance with the practice of designing one, commissioning one, and building one, the "Fujian" aircraft carrier has completed construction and has entered the mooring test stage in an all-round way. After the completion of the mooring test, the "Fujian" aircraft carrier can begin sea trials. At this time, the construction of China's fourth aircraft carrier should begin. Before the slipway is officially boarded, it needs to be built in sections. The secrecy of the sectional construction is relatively high, mainly carried out inside the shipyard, and outsiders cannot see it unless the relevant personnel know the progress. It will not be until the completion of the segmentation and the hull of the ship on the slipway will the aircraft carrier 004 be made public and open for construction. In terms of aircraft carrier technology, China already ranks second in the world, second only to the United States. Compared with the most advanced aircraft carrier of the United States, the USS Ford, China's aircraft carrier technology is only inferior to nuclear power. With nuclear power, China's aircraft carriers can go hand in hand with the United States and rank among the world's No. 1 aircraft carrier technology. The gap between Chinese and American aircraft carriers is only one step away. So, how long will it take for China's Project 004 aircraft carrier to be launched?Can it become China's first ocean-going combat aircraft carrier?Today, I will talk to you about the leapfrog significance of the 004 aircraft carrier to the Chinese Navy. 
At present, China already has three aircraft carriers, namely "Liaoning", "Shandong" and "Fujian". These three aircraft carriers are all coastal defense aircraft carriers, and their combat range is mainly in the western Pacific, and they can occasionally go to the Central Pacific Ocean for a walk, but they do not have the ability to sustain combat in the Central Pacific. The reason is simple, China lacks overseas military supply bases. Once the logistics supply is left in the southeast coastal area, China's aircraft carrier battle group can easily run into a shortage of fuel, fresh water and food. The United States has 374 military bases around the world, including 242 naval bases. U.S. naval bases are located in South Korea and Japan in East Asia, the Philippines and Singapore in Southeast Asia, Australia in Oceania, and the Persian Gulf in the Middle East. No matter how the American aircraft carrier goes, it doesn't have to worry about supplies. Nuclear power only provides unlimited endurance for aircraft carriers, but military supplies such as food, ammunition and fresh water still depend on overseas bases**. 
So far, China has only one overseas logistics support base in Djibouti. In Djibouti, China has built a large pier 340 meters long and 40 meters wide, and there is no problem with docking aircraft carriers. But the Djibouti base is too small, and it is enough to serve as a transit and supply station in peacetime. If it enters a wartime situation, Djibouti will not be enough, and ports and docks may become targets. The "Liaoning", "Shandong", and "Fujian" are all conventionally powered aircraft carriers, which sail to the ocean and require sufficient fuel support. Without a sufficient number of overseas logistics support bases, it will be difficult to carry out ocean-going operations. Therefore, China's three existing large aircraft carriers are all mainly defensive and keep the enemy out of the country. Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are different, they are naturally designed for ocean-going operations. Without taking into account ocean-going operations, there is no need for nuclear power, and conventionally powered aircraft carriers are completely sufficient. But today's China's economic interests are spread all over the world, while overseas military construction has a serious lag. The construction of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers is not only a rigid need to defend overseas interests, but also the only way for China's aircraft carrier battle group to go deep blue. 
In terms of performance, the 004 aircraft carrier will be fully configured, with a large through deck, electromagnetic catapult, nuclear power, all-electric propulsion system, stealth carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based air early warning aircraft, carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, carrier-based stealth UAV, etc., none of which is missing. 004 will be a sign of China's aircraft carrier technology towards the great consummation, with a displacement of at least 100,000 tons and more than 80 carrier-based aircraft. In terms of various combat indicators, the 004 aircraft carrier will be comprehensively benchmarked against the American "Ford" class. In terms of construction cycle, the 004 aircraft carrier will not be much longer than the 003, because the 003 aircraft carrier has undergone a mid-term design overhaul. At the beginning, the 003 aircraft carrier did not plan to get on the electromagnetic catapult, but on the steam catapult, and did not plan to get on the J-35 stealth carrier-based aircraft, but on the J-15T catapult version of the conventional carrier-based aircraft. Academician Ma Weiming single-handedly broke through the electromagnetic catapult technology in advance, and Shenfei Group also made silent efforts to successfully develop the J-35 stealth fighter, which was not optimistic. This made the construction period of the 003 aircraft carrier delayed again and again, just stuck at the time point, the electromagnetic catapult system, and the J-35 stealth carrier-based aircraft was also ushered in. 
It's just that the J-15T suffered, and the first prototype made its first flight in 2016. It has only been 7 years, and the J-15T is outdated and facing the fate of being eliminated. The first batch of J-15T, which has been mass-produced, will also be the last batch, which was directly dried by the J-35 to the point of being out of print. The "Fujian" aircraft carrier will also choose to mix and match the J-15T and the J-35, and the 004 aircraft carrier will be equipped with all J-35 stealth carrier-based aircraft. The "Fujian" aircraft carrier started construction in 2016, and the original plan was to complete it in 5 years
End. However, due to the mid-term revision, it was delayed for 2 years, and it was delayed to 2023. The technical preparation of the No. 004 aircraft carrier is very sufficient, and it does not need to undergo any major modifications on the way, but its tonnage is 20,000 tons larger than that of the "Fujian", and the amount of work is bound to increase, and it is expected that the construction period of the No. 004 aircraft carrier will also be about 7 years. That is, by 2030, the construction of the project 004 aircraft carrier will be completed. 
But China does not have only one aircraft carrier manufacturing base, but two. After the Dalian shipyard finished building the "Liaoning" and "Shandong", it did not build new aircraft carriers, and it was the Jiangnan shipyard that succeeded the "Fujian" in manufacturing. Today, the two shipyards in Dalian and Jiangnan have accumulated rich experience in aircraft carrier manufacturing, and there is no shortage of talents, technology, and workers. It is likely that the third batch of Chinese aircraft carriers will be built at the same time. By 2030, China will have at least 5 large aircraft carriers in service, which is a basic goal. With two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, China's aircraft carrier battle group can expand its combat range to the Central Pacific and Indian Oceans, carrying at least 120 J-35 stealth carrier-based aircraft. An aircraft carrier battle group can rival the naval and air force strength of a medium-sized country. The only suspense is that after the "Fujian" enters service, which province will the 004 aircraft carrier be named after?