China announced on Thursday that it is building a second aircraft carrier for its navy. The announcement made official what a number of military experts have been speculating for some time now. The second carrier will be based on it's first, the Liaoning, and will be built at the Dalian shipyyard over the next few years.
Liaoning was built from a used hull China purchased from Ukraine in 1998. This carrier was commissioned in 2012. This carrier was expected to become a part of the Chinese naval fleet immediately; however, due to certain delays, there are doubts over whether the vessel is being fully used even today. Some experts reckon that the first carrier is not still carrying it's full complement of aircraft and firepower. There are suggestions therefore that this vessel has largely remained a training vessel, according to Fox News.
The second aircraft carrier is being designed and developed indigenously largely along the lines of the first. It will displace roughly 50,000 tons and will carry a ski-jump for military aircraft to take off. It will be powered not by nuclear engines, but by conventional ones. This carrier will presumably carry aircraft such as the J 15, which is China's version of Russia's Sukhoi 33 fighter aircraft, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The ship will be built at the Dalian shipyard. A lot of the operational and refitting experience learned from commissioning and managing the Liaoning is expected to help with the building of the second aircraft carrier. Regarding the time frame for its completion, Chinese officials are more circumspect and said that it would depend on the success achieved at the end of each stage of this process.
In contrast, the Nimitz class aircraft carriers of the American navy are vastly different. These are powered by nuclear engines, which extend their range and longevity on the sea to a much greater degree than a ship powered by conventional engines. Also, these carriers display nearly 100,000 tons when they are fully loaded, which is twice as much as the Chinese ship, according to the Wall Street Journal.
