SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
China’s home-built aircraft carrier PHOTO/Popular Mechanics
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in 2015 a huge military overhaul, aimed at transforming the People’s Liberation Army – the world’s biggest – into a smaller, more nimble, modern fighting force.
Here are some notable recent launches and milestones on that journey.
1. China launches first home-built aircraft carrier in latest display of growing naval power
China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier was launched in April 2017 in the latest display of Beijing’s growing naval power.
The carrier was released into open water from a shipyard in the port of Dalian, northeastern Liaoning province, as a bottle of champagne was smashed for good luck and the national anthem played in the background.
The carrier, which had earlier been temporarily named the Type 001A, is China’s second after the Liaoning, a refitted former Soviet Union-made carrier that was put into commission in the PLA Navy in 2012.
The carrier, 315 metres long and 75 metres wide, has a cruising speed of 31 knots and a displacement of 70,000 tonnes.
2. China on cusp of taking the lead in cutting-edge propulsion technology for submarines
The US Navy’s Pacific fleet used to mock Chinese submarines for being too noisy and too easy to detect.
That has largely been remedied in recent years, and China is now on the cusp of taking the lead in a cutting-edge propulsion technology.
Naval experts said the new technology would help China build more elusive submarines, but might also prompt the United States to ramp up anti-submarine warfare measures
3. China boosts naval power with Asia’s most advanced warship
China launched in June 2017 what it calls the most advanced and largest warship in Asia, billing it as a major step forward in the modernisation of its navy, according to the official military newspaper.
Military experts said the new Type 055 guided-missile destroyer – which has a displacement of more than 12,000 tonnes – was designed to accompany the country’s future aircraft carrier battle groups.
The destroyer was built at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai and was equipped with air defence, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, PLA Daily newspaper reported.
Military analysts said the Type 055 was in theory the world’s second most powerful destroyer – after the US Navy’s DDG-1000, or the Zumwalt class. The capabilities of the Type 055 surpass South Korea’s DDG-991 and Japan’s Atago class, which have a 10,000 tonne displacement.
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