Summary
Satellite images suggest China is developing a massive nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, potentially matching the size and capabilities of U.S. supercarriers, analysts told NBC News.
The ship, possibly the Type 004, appears to feature four electromagnetic catapults for launching fighter jets, a design shift from China’s current fleet.
Experts say this move aligns with China’s goal of building a “blue-water navy” to rival the U.S.
While Beijing has not confirmed the project, U.S. officials view China’s military expansion as a strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific.
It doesn’t matter at this point. US hard power is largely worthless with US soft power wrecked.
The hard power will be the next thing to go. Trump and his buddies are trying to make the US into Russia, and that comes with all the problems that rotted the Russian military from within. We already have plenty of corruption, but our generals have enough integrity to put their foot down when something might impact combat readyness. Trump’s loyalist buddies care only about the grift.
It matters to pirates. China isn’t worried about a war with the US. Let’s face it the US is gone in a decade at most.
China is worried about transporting goods over sea from their belt and road allies using routes that pass by nations famous for naval piracy… Something currently kept in check by us patrols. If the US does start divesting one way or another from its navy, nations will need to guard their own ships from piracy, and that’s China’s clear goal with their entire naval forces.
It’s still worth something in the Middle East, just in case they want to give out “freedom” again.
Just to put this into perspective: There are 13 ships comparable to US “Aircraft Carriers” on the planet. The US operates 11 of them. France has one. China is building one.
There are an additional 38 ships on the planet designed to carry aircraft, but with less than half the capacity of actual carriers. The world calls them carriers; the US calls them “Amphibious Assault Ships” and operates 9.
If we remove all 11 US “Aircraft Carriers”, its 9 Amphibious Assault Ships still carry more than twice as many aircaft as the entire Chinese Navy.
The real advantage of CATOBAR carriers is the ability to deploy heavily loaded, long-range strike aircraft and large support aircraft, like the Hawkeye, Growler, buddy tankers, etc.
STOBAR and STOVL carriers are reliant on land-based support aircraft.
Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov is also very large and theoretically more able to defend itself than at least the Nimitz class…if it wasn’t a reeking shitpile that can’t even move under its own power consistently.
The reason is that they expected that carrier to sail with little backup or none at all. Meanwhile every American carrier is just the centerpiece of a larger, exorbitantly expensive battle group. They can’t afford that, so they have to compensate somehow.
I’d assume the logic is the same with Chinese ambitions here.
The Kuznetsov has better weapons because it had to be technically classed as a missile cruiser to navigate the Bosporus.
Yes, operating an aircraft carrier away from home is a massive logistics problem. They’ve been practicing with their rebuilt Russian carriers, but they’re still a long way from being able to sustain a battle group at sea.
I have a deja vu, I think around ten years ago someone on reddit said the same thing about China having naval aviation at all.
