China's aircraft carrier development has always been the focus of the world's attention. At present, China already has two conventionally powered aircraft carriers in service, the Liaoning and Shandong, as well as a new aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which is undergoing sea trials. The Fujian is China's first aircraft carrier to use an electromagnetic catapult system, and it is expected to be officially commissioned around 2025. So, what will China's fourth aircraft carrier look like? Will it be conventionally powered or nuclear? When will it start building?
According to the South China Morning Post, China has completed the design of its fourth aircraft carrier, and some say it will be China's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. However, this information has not been officially confirmed, and there is currently no indication that the construction of the fourth aircraft carrier has begun. This could be related to several reasons:
First of all, the Fujian is still undergoing various tests, some of which may be applied to the fourth aircraft carrier. The aircraft carrier is not a single warship, but must cooperate with carrier-based aircraft, missiles and other advanced equipment to form a powerful aircraft carrier battle group. In order to improve the effectiveness of aircraft carrier battle groups, all countries will develop some special equipment and technology according to their own needs and characteristics when building aircraft carriers.
The Fujian is China's first aircraft carrier to use an electromagnetic catapult system, which can shorten the take-off interval of carrier-based aircraft and improve the take-off and landing efficiency of carrier-based aircraft. At present, only the latest generation of aircraft carriers in the United States, the "Ford-class", also uses this technology, while aircraft carriers in other countries still use steam catapult systems. The Fujian ship has achieved "corner overtaking" in this regard, but this technology also needs to be fully verified and optimized to ensure safety and stability. If the Fujian ship is a unique product, then the investment in new technologies and equipment such as electromagnetic catapult is not very cost-effective, so the Fujian ship is likely to have a follow-up sister ship.
Secondly, our current need for conventionally powered aircraft carriers is not very urgent, and the technical difficulties of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are still very great. There are two main roles of aircraft carriers: defense in the near sea and operations in the far sea, and the number and type of aircraft carriers depend mainly on the development goals of maritime forces.
At present, the international situation is relatively stable on the whole, and there is no danger of a large-scale war breaking out. There are also no serious conflicts and crises in China's surrounding waters, and although there are some countries in the Asia-Pacific region that provoke and challenge China's interests, these issues can be resolved through diplomacy and negotiations. Therefore, our current aircraft carriers are mainly used to maintain security and stability in the South China Sea and the western Pacific, rather than to conduct large-scale operations in the far seas. We already have three conventionally powered aircraft carriers, plus missiles and other ** equipment, which can basically deal with the current maritime threats and challenges.
In addition, from the point of view of tonnage and carrier-based aircraft take-off and landing, the Fujian is China's most advanced conventionally powered aircraft carrier, and its tonnage reaches 8With 50,000 tons and more than 40 carrier-based aircraft, it is currently one of the largest conventionally powered aircraft carriers in the world. But when the Fujian was launched, there were some differences from the original design, such as the lack of nuclear power, which some people regretted.
In fact, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is the highest level of aircraft carrier development, it can achieve almost unlimited range and endurance, can sail freely in any sea area in the world, and is a symbol of maritime supremacy. At present, only the United States has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the world, while other countries have decommissioned or retired nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In the future, maritime competition between major powers will inevitably involve the construction and use of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
China also has plans and aspirations to study nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and from the beginning of construction of the Fujian, there was speculation that it could be China's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. But now it seems that this speculation has not become a reality, and the Fujian is still a conventionally powered aircraft carrier. Well, the next possible candidate is the fourth aircraft carrier.
As we all know, China has an astonishing speed and ability in scientific and technological innovation, and we will not blindly follow the pace of others, but will carry out independent research and development and innovation according to our own needs and characteristics. China Shipbuilding Group has publicly revealed that it plans to achieve a nuclear power breakthrough in 2027, which shows that we do have the readiness and confidence to study nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
However, building a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier from scratch is a very complex and difficult project, involving technologies and problems in many aspects such as nuclear reactors, nuclear fuel, nuclear safety, and nuclear waste. We must not rush to achieve results, but make steady progress to ensure the safety and reliability of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. We may refer to the design of the latest generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the United States, the "Ford-class", which uses an A1B type reactor that can output 300,000 horsepower, which is more advanced than the "Nimitz-class" A4W type reactor.
Therefore, if we want to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the future, it may take a certain amount of time and preparation, and we will not rush to start construction. This is also one of the reasons why our fourth aircraft carrier has not yet appeared.
In short, the construction of our fourth aircraft carrier depends not only on our technical capabilities, but also on our strategic needs and economic strength. We will not neglect quality for the sake of quantity, nor will we blindly build aircraft carriers for the sake of fashion.