Page 10 - ADT SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 Online Magazine

RACE FOR FLATTOPS  SHIPBUILDING

CHINA AND INDIA ARE GROWING THEIR
AIRCRAFT CARRIER CAPABILITY that the aircraft carrier can sail further, operate
longer and bring greater fighting power to bear
on the battlefield. In addition to the J-15 fighter
jet, which is now the spearhead of Chinese car-
 ATUL CHANDRA
rier battle groups, the Fujian is expected to have
new advanced combat planes and drones.
The Indian Navy is the undisputed leader in carrier-based naval
aviation in Asia, having operated aircraft carriers with great dis- Following the launch of the new aircraft carrier,
tinction and to war-winning effect in the last 60 years. It now has Senior Captain Liu Wensheng, PLAN spokesper-
two aircraft carriers in operational service in the INS Vikramaditya son, said, “Featuring flat, straight flight deck,
and indigenously built INS Vikrant. The Chinese People’s Liberation aircraft carrier Fujian is China’s first domestically
Army Navy (PLAN) had made dramatic advances in its own nascent designed and manufactured carrier, which is
carrier-based aviation capability in the recent past. China now equipped with electromagnetic catapults and
has two aircraft carriers in operation, with a third undergoing sea arresting devices uses catapults and has a full-
trials and has plans to operate a total of six flattops in future. India load displacement of more than 80,000 tonnes.”
which has two aircraft carriers, is yet to decide on building a second The use of an electromagnetic launch system to
indigenous flattop. launch fixed-wing aircraft, will give it a much
greater combat capability than its two pre-
PLAN AHEAD IN AIRCRAFT CARRIER RACE decessors, which use ski-jumps to launch jets,
limiting the payload of these aircraft.
China has made dramatic progress in building its aircraft carrier fleet
in the past decade, since its first aircraft carrier the CNS Liaoning
(Hull 16) was commissioned in September 2012 and second CNS
Shandong (Hull 17), was commissioned in 2019. In June, the PLAN
launched its newest aircraft carrier, the indigenously built Fujian, at
the Jiangnan Shipyard of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.
China’s third aircraft carrier has been given the name of Fujian (after
a provincial-level administrative region) and the hull number 18 with
the approval of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC).

Compared with its two predecessors, the Fujian is much bigger
and heavier, with a larger flight deck and a smaller superstructure.
These differences mean that the Fujian can carry more aircraft and
fuel and will be capable of deploying and recovering more fighter
jets in combat operations. Its greater carrying capacity also means
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