International China is building what could be the World's Biggest Supercarrier

[650lb Sumo]

Spoiler: Link

China’s new supercarrier will outgun the entire UK armed forces. It may visit us soon

It’s a 5 per cent world out there, Prime Minister

www.telegraph.co.uk

Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian, soon to go operational. The next one will be the biggest in the world.

Satellite imagery reveals construction activity at China’s Dalian shipyard that is unmistakably the building of a supercarrier. Add that to analysis from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, that China has built a new prototype naval nuclear reactor, and it is clear where this is going. Early images suggest that the new carrier could displace as much as 120,000 tons, which would make it noticeably larger than the USS Gerald R Ford, at 100,000 tons the world’s current largest.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) already has its own version of America’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on the third Chinese carrier, the Fujian, launched in 2022 and expected to become operational shortly. It appears that the new Type 004 – as it’s being called for now – will have four catapults, one more than the Fujian and equivalent to the USS Ford. It will likely operate up to 100 aircraft, including the J-15 multirole fighter,

J-35 stealth fighter,

KJ-600 airborne early warning plane,

helicopters, and GJ-11 Sharp Sword jet drones. Like the Ford and the US Nimitz class before that, it’s essentially an entire air force at sea.

Before I look at how China might use this ship, let me quickly tackle the two most common carrier myths in circulation right now – just in case the fact that ten or so navies are building them right now, including China, doesn’t convince you they’re worth having.

Now is the time to point out that with carriers, size certainly does matter. Size defines the ability to accommodate and deploy fast jets. Sortie generation rate is a key metric here, with the largest US carriers able to generate in excess of 110 sorties a day. This defines their reach and warfighting potential. Clever design of the British Queen Elizabeth class flight deck and lifts means they are not far behind at 100 sorties a day, if they ever had the jets. The point is, bigger is better when it comes to a carrier’s primary role, and China is soon to have the world’s biggest.

It’s difficult to exaggerate what a major development this is. Thus far China has been seen as a threat to nations like Australia, Japan, South Korea and – especially – Taiwan. But supercarriers like the one building in Dalian are global weapons, and can appear anywhere. One such ship arriving with its escort group in the approaches to the Channel, would have around as much air and strike power as the entire British armed forces. Two would overmatch us completely.

A lot of people right now believe that Vladimir Putin and his army are the primary military threat to western Europe and Britain. In just a few years, that kind of thinking is likely to look very out of date indeed.

Chinese naval vessels

So what do we do about this? This is a question for the ongoing Strategic Defence Review to answer. However so far there doesn’t seem to be any likelihood of a serious uplift in Defence resources. The Prime Minister took plans for just 2.5 per cent of GDP with him to the White House. An American colleague recently said to me: “You know Trump doesn’t do decimal points, right?” Sure enough, the President’s team commented that 5 per cent would have been more like it.

Think what you like about Donald Trump’s stance on anything else, he’s right about that. It’s a 5 per cent world out there, and if we’re going to survive in it we need to lift our heads up out of the domestic weeds – and even the European weeds – have a look around us, and start paying attention.

In a few years, 120,000 ton aircraft carriers accompanied by massive invasion motherships could be sitting off our coast, presenting a threat that would make a Russian incursion look feeble. We need to be ready.

 

[Siver!]

Spoiler: Link

China’s new supercarrier will outgun the entire UK armed forces. It may visit us soon

It’s a 5 per cent world out there, Prime Minister

www.telegraph.co.uk

Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian, soon to go operational. The next one will be the biggest in the world.

Satellite imagery reveals construction activity at China’s Dalian shipyard that is unmistakably the building of a supercarrier. Add that to analysis from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, that China has built a new prototype naval nuclear reactor, and it is clear where this is going. Early images suggest that the new carrier could displace as much as 120,000 tons, which would make it noticeably larger than the USS Gerald R Ford, at 100,000 tons the world’s current largest.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) already has its own version of America’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on the third Chinese carrier, the Fujian, launched in 2022 and expected to become operational shortly. It appears that the new Type 004 – as it’s being called for now – will have four catapults, one more than the Fujian and equivalent to the USS Ford. It will likely operate up to 100 aircraft, including the J-15 multirole fighter,

J-35 stealth fighter,

KJ-600 airborne early warning plane,

helicopters, and GJ-11 Sharp Sword jet drones. Like the Ford and the US Nimitz class before that, it’s essentially an entire air force at sea.

Before I look at how China might use this ship, let me quickly tackle the two most common carrier myths in circulation right now – just in case the fact that ten or so navies are building them right now, including China, doesn’t convince you they’re worth having.

Now is the time to point out that with carriers, size certainly does matter. Size defines the ability to accommodate and deploy fast jets. Sortie generation rate is a key metric here, with the largest US carriers able to generate in excess of 110 sorties a day. This defines their reach and warfighting potential. Clever design of the British Queen Elizabeth class flight deck and lifts means they are not far behind at 100 sorties a day, if they ever had the jets. The point is, bigger is better when it comes to a carrier’s primary role, and China is soon to have the world’s biggest.

It’s difficult to exaggerate what a major development this is. Thus far China has been seen as a threat to nations like Australia, Japan, South Korea and – especially – Taiwan. But supercarriers like the one building in Dalian are global weapons, and can appear anywhere. One such ship arriving with its escort group in the approaches to the Channel, would have around as much air and strike power as the entire British armed forces. Two would overmatch us completely.

A lot of people right now believe that Vladimir Putin and his army are the primary military threat to western Europe and Britain. In just a few years, that kind of thinking is likely to look very out of date indeed.

Chinese naval vessels

So what do we do about this? This is a question for the ongoing Strategic Defence Review to answer. However so far there doesn’t seem to be any likelihood of a serious uplift in Defence resources. The Prime Minister took plans for just 2.5 per cent of GDP with him to the White House. An American colleague recently said to me: “You know Trump doesn’t do decimal points, right?” Sure enough, the President’s team commented that 5 per cent would have been more like it.

Think what you like about Donald Trump’s stance on anything else, he’s right about that. It’s a 5 per cent world out there, and if we’re going to survive in it we need to lift our heads up out of the domestic weeds – and even the European weeds – have a look around us, and start paying attention.

In a few years, 120,000 ton aircraft carriers accompanied by massive invasion motherships could be sitting off our coast, presenting a threat that would make a Russian incursion look feeble. We need to be ready.

Europe 100 % needs to up it's game militarily. Europe needs to be at the point that it can at least repel Russia decisively.

Europe has to be able to do that without the assistance of the United States, which is an unreliable partner more interested in climbing into bed with Russia and China than maintaining preexisting relations.

It's a shame "forces" have been able to divide Europe politically, that will make it far more complex to show a united front to the rest of the world, so we've got an even more difficult job to do going forward. It won't be enough for Europe to have the bare minimum to repel aggression from nations like Russia and dictators like Putin, we'll have to have more for when some of the European allies get turned - much like we've seen with America.

We need to have 125 % of what we actually would need with a united Europe to account for when a Turkiye or a Romania falls under Putin's influence. This is in part due to the Russian/Chinese screamers (OMG IMMIGRANTS) trying to install right wing governments throughout Europe.

 

[F1980]

China has been a world superpower for 5000 years. I don't know why people are still surprised they're climbing back up on top. They were a superpower thousands of years before the Roman empire even began.

Even during Alexander the Great at his peak, China has already been conducting wars at a much larger scale than he's ever been in.

 

[CantCucktheTuck]

How are they gonna man all those ships when their population is a generation away from total collapse?

 

[Halge]

Remember when Imperial Japan built gigantic warships because it realized it was hopelessly outclassed in numbers and industrial capacity?

Remember what happened to Imperial Japan?

 

[Stoic1]

China is developing power projection platforms, logistics, and infrastructure. That is undeniable.

What they lack is experience or a military structure capable of dealing with the dynamic nature of war.

I'm not worried about their carriers. I am worried about them currently conducting asymmetrical and multi domain warfare while America pretends it isn't happening. The bio weapons, spy Ballon delivery systems, bought politicians, thousands of sleepers currently in America, outright theft of IP and military secrets, etc. That's the shit that worries me.

 

[Bia]

are they going to call it Yangmato?

 

[avenue94]

China has been a world superpower for 5000 years. I don't know why people are still surprised they're climbing back up on top. They were a superpower thousands of years before the Roman empire even began.

Even during Alexander the Great at his peak, China has already been conducting wars at a much larger scale than he's ever been in.

No they haven't lol. This is as bad as trying to claim China had had a consistent government or structure as a country for all that time.

 

[Tatra]

China has been a world superpower for 5000 years. I don't know why people are still surprised they're climbing back up on top. They were a superpower thousands of years before the Roman empire even began.

Even during Alexander the Great at his peak, China has already been conducting wars at a much larger scale than he's ever been in.

China is not 5000 years old and certainly hasn't been a superpower for that long. At the most, it's been a major power for 2500 years, but any more than that and you'll have a hard time proving it.

 

[evergreenrider]

I was told the majority of their fleet of war weaponry was inflatables and cardboards cutouts. Why would they need to build this to house those?

 

[ShinkanPo]

China has been a world superpower for 5000 years. I don't know why people are still surprised they're climbing back up on top. They were a superpower thousands of years before the Roman empire even began.

Even during Alexander the Great at his peak, China has already been conducting wars at a much larger scale than he's ever been in.

Yes for its long history the combined period were China is a super power is longer than the time it has been a broken backwater state.

 

[Domitian]

China has been a world superpower for 5000 years. I don't know why people are still surprised they're climbing back up on top. They were a superpower thousands of years before the Roman empire even began.

Even during Alexander the Great at his peak, China has already been conducting wars at a much larger scale than he's ever been in.

Do what? China was composed of a bunch of warring independent states until 221 BC when Qin Shi Huang unified China. This is only roughly 200 years before Rome became an Empire but in 221 BC Rome wasn't exactly anything to scoff at either. This is just a few years before Rome defeated Carthage in the second Punic War.

Alexander had conquered all his territory 100 years before Qin Shi Huang came around.

 

[Kingz]

How are they gonna man all those ships when their population is a generation away from total collapse?

Muslim immigration of course

Right?

 

[Sweater of AV]

Checkmate, China.

We were doing this shit when you were still in your father's nutsack.

 

[IDGETKTFO]

Bigger target, easier to hit.

 

[Gotosleepho]

China is just dominating in general. I should start learning Chinese just in case.

 

[Hdfi]

China avoided all major wars of the 21 century and never invaded Europe in 2000+ years.

 

[Fanu]

China has been a world superpower for 5000 years. I don't know why people are still surprised they're climbing back up on top. They were a superpower thousands of years before the Roman empire even began.

Even during Alexander the Great at his peak, China has already been conducting wars at a much larger scale than he's ever been in.

Alexander conquered half the known world then while China never dared play outside its backyard