As the standard configuration of the navies of modern powers, aircraft carriers are the strategic highlands that naval powers are vying for. China's aircraft carrier concept began in the 1930s, but due to the weak national strength and industrial base at that time, the original aircraft carrier plan fell to naught. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has not given up the concept of aircraft carriers, but it was not until the end of the 1990s that the "Varyag" aircraft carrier set off for China that China's aircraft carrier program really took off.
After the "Varyag" went to China, it soon entered the Dalian shipyard for continued construction work, and after many years, China's first aircraft carrier "Liaoning" entered people's field of vision. After the "Liaoning" ship matured, China built the 002 aircraft carrier on the basis of the "Liaoning" ship, which was named the "Shandong" ship and undertook the heavy task of coastal defense. The above two aircraft carriers are both glide jump take-off aircraft carriers, which are not equipped with catapults, and carrier-based aircraft can only rely on their own power to leave the ship through the upturned deck, which is a big gap with the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers equipped with direct decks in the United States.
However, since the launch of China's second domestically produced aircraft carrier "Fujian", the level of China's aircraft carriers has undergone radical changes, and the overall strength of China's aircraft carriers has caught up with the footsteps of the United States. In this regard, the American professional ** has a positive evaluation, believing that China is becoming an aircraft carrier power, and the gap with the United States is getting smaller and smaller.
The US "National Interest," which has always been concerned about China's modernization, pointed out that since the launch of the "Fujian" warship, the level of China's aircraft carriers has been raised to a new height. The first two aircraft carriers are both gliding aircraft carriers, and there is a big gap between their comprehensive combat strength and that of the United States nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. After the advent of the "Fujian" ship, the aircraft carrier gap between China and the United States has been greatly compressed, and China's aircraft carrier has entered the fast lane.
The US media pointed out that China's third aircraft carrier, the "Fujian," is currently China's most advanced aircraft carrier, equipped with an electromagnetic catapult and interdiction system, and does not have the limitations of the "Liaoning" and "Shandong" ships. The US media believe that the "Fujian" is currently undergoing final outfitting operations in the dock, and after all links are completed, the "Fujian" will become the ceiling of the world's conventionally powered aircraft carriers.
However, while affirming the combat strength of the "Fujian" aircraft carrier, the US media also pointed out the disadvantages of the "Fujian" ship, saying that the Chinese aircraft carrier lacks actual combat experience and has not undergone the baptism of actual combat, and its combat power cannot be compared with that of the American aircraft carrier.
As a large aircraft carrier with a displacement of more than 80,000 tons, the "Fujian" ship has a lot of "black technology", and only China can use electromagnetic catapult for conventionally powered aircraft carriers. Compared with the US aircraft carrier "Ford," the "Fujian" ship relies on a medium-voltage direct current integrated power management system, which is very difficult, while the "Ford" uses Central Asian alternating current technology, so in terms of power system, the "Fujian" ship is one generation ahead of the "Ford" aircraft carrier.
As far as the performance of the aircraft carrier itself is concerned, the "Fujian" ship has reached a very high level, and even has an advantage over the US "Nimitz" class aircraft carrier in some fields. Although the "Fujian" ship adopts a conventional power system and needs to be accompanied by supply ships during ocean-going training, its electromagnetic ejection system and electromagnetic interdiction system are very advanced and more reliable than those of US aircraft carriers. In addition, the types and quantities of carrier-based aircraft that the "Fujian" ship can carry have been greatly improved compared with the "Shandong" and "Liaoning" ships; in addition to carrying the J-15B, J-35, and Air Police-600 early warning aircraft that can catapult and take off, the carrier-based aircraft lineup is not inferior to the US aircraft carrier, and it can also carry carrier-based stealth unmanned attack aircraft; after the US Navy's X-47B UAV project was launched, the unmanned combat advantage of the "Fujian" ship is very obvious.
Therefore, from the perspective of hardware configuration, China's aircraft carriers have changed by leaps and bounds, and the gap between Chinese and American aircraft carriers has also been greatly compressed.
However, from the perspective of actual combat, US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers have participated in almost all local conflicts in recent decades and have rich combat experience, which is indeed lacking in Chinese aircraft carriers. However, the actual combat experience of US aircraft carriers has only been gained by bullying weak and small countries, and the US Navy has never played against such strong opponents as Russia and China, and its accumulated experience cannot be directly applied to potential conflicts with China.
In addition, the current trajectory of China's aircraft carriers is still within the coverage of the PLA's shore-based firepower, and can be supported by a variety of anti-aircraft carrier operations, including various anti-ship ballistic missiles and H-6K N bombers. Therefore, in the western Pacific, even if the United States aircraft carriers have more experience in actual combat, Chinese aircraft carriers still have the ability to win.
However, we can also see from the reports of the US media that in the context of China's increasingly powerful aircraft carriers, the United States can only rely on the so-called actual combat experience to brush up its presence. Project Sword