The United States and some other Western countries have a sneering and skeptical attitude towards China's acquisition of the "Varyag" aircraft carrier. They feel that the aircraft carrier with an empty shell that China has bought for nearly $20 million is really a luxury and stupid thing. At that time, the Americans thought that although the "Varyag" was in good condition, it was not worth mentioning to them at all, and it was worth five million dollars at most. They can't believe that China can turn it into a kind of ** with real combat value.
However, the Chinese have vision and perseverance, and this has been confirmed. China gained valuable experience in building aircraft carriers on the Varyag, and at the same time trained a number of professional teams capable of designing and manufacturing more complete aircraft carriers, which were China's later Shandong, Fujian, and even more aircraft carriers in the future.
Let's uncover China's reconstruction of the Varyag and the unknowns.
"Varyag" is an unfinished aircraft carrier of the former Soviet Union, which began construction back in the late 1980s. Due to the collapse of the former Soviet Union, its construction was also stopped, and in the end Russia simply stopped its production and sold it. Under the intervention of the United States, Ukraine has dismantled all the armament on the "Varyag" and turned it into an empty shell.
Nevertheless, China is still very concerned about the Varyag aircraft carrier. China wanted to build its own aircraft carrier before the acquisition, and tried to acquire and retrofit old aircraft carriers from other countries, but no progress was made. Therefore, the advent of the "Varyag" has brought a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for China to build an aircraft carrier of its own.
The delivery of the Varyag from Ukraine to China is a challenging task. Despite being intercepted and blackmailed by Turkey, China still used great perseverance and efforts to safely transport the plane to China in 2002. Although the Chinese engineers were still nervous, they were deeply shocked at the moment they stepped on the "Varyag".
Although the Varyag has been dismantled into a shell, its internal structure and intact preservation have shocked Chinese researchers. In particular, it is still in a state of "zero magnetism", which fully reflects the leading level of the USSR in the manufacture of warships.
China immediately embarked on the construction and modification of the "Varyag", and conducted a lot of research and study of the Soviet construction technology. This is not only a technical problem facing China, but also an important strategic opportunity. China sent a delegation to the Black Sea shipyard and finally bought the design drawings of the "Varyag" and the corresponding production equipment for four million dollars. And these precious cultural relics are also an important reference for China to refit the "Varyag" aircraft carrier.
China encountered a lot of technical difficulties in the refit, such as the needs of the Chinese Navy, how to modify its internal equipment, how to meet the steel requirements of aircraft carriers. In order to solve the above problems, we must not only rely on the diligence and wisdom of Chinese scientists, but also rely on China's continuous exploration and exploration in science and technology.
From 2002, when the "Varyag" docked at the port of Dalian Port, to September 2012, when the Chinese Navy was officially put into use, after 10 years, China finally achieved the goal of transforming from a scrapped aircraft carrier shell to a modern aircraft carrier, that is, the transformation of the Liaoning. During this period, China not only overcame many scientific and technological difficulties, but also greatly improved its steelmaking process, making it one of the few major countries in the world that can independently manufacture steel for aircraft carriers.
Now the "Liaoning" has been in service with the Chinese Navy for 12 years, and although its overall strength may not be as good as that of the Shandong and Fujian ships, it still plays an irreplaceable and important role for China. This is not only a testament to the growing naval power of China, but also to the development and innovation of China's science and technology. From the smooth refit of the "Liaoning Ship", we can see that a China that dares to face challenges and keeps forging ahead is increasingly showing a more confident and powerful posture on the world stage.
China's actions have responded to the initial ridicule and questioning of the United States and other Western worlds. With the smooth refit of the "Liaoning", China has not only obtained its first aircraft carrier, but also laid a good foundation for the construction of more large aircraft carriers in the future. The legend of the Chinese aircraft carrier will continue to be written.
In this film, we can not only see the history of an aircraft carrier refit, but also the rise and development of a nation, as well as the spirit of a nation's unremitting self-improvement and courage to pioneer. The successful refit of the "Varyag" has strengthened our belief that as long as we have determination, wisdom and innovation, no matter how difficult and challenging it is, we will win.