China solemnly launched the second aircraft carrier, but the first one was completely manufactured by China's shipbuilders. It can be seen with the naked eye that this is a brand new copy of the Soviet Varyag, which Beijing bought unfinished from Ukraine in the 90s. last century.

Type 001A dimensions are exactly the same as those of the former "Varyag" - "Liaoning": 315 m long, 75 m wide. 36 J-15 fighters (a Chinese copy of the carrier-based Su-33) can be based on board. As well as reconnaissance and anti-submarine helicopters. The armament is the same: Type 1130 anti-aircraft artillery systems, created in the 90s of the last century on the basis of Soviet AK-630s; short-range anti-aircraft missile systems HHQ-10 and anti-submarine missiles. True, the cruising speed of the new aircraft carrier increased slightly compared to the Liaoning from 28 to 31 knots (57 km/h).

But the main thing is not this, but the fact that the Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China now has as many as two heavy aircraft carriers. Russia, by the way, has only one Admiral Kuznetsov. Yes, and it will be sent for modernization in September. However, according to military experts, China does not intend to compete with Russia, which has a powerful submarine fleet and good cruise missiles, but with Asian countries: Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and India.

"With each new aircraft carrier, China sends a signal to these states: we are no match for you," said Patrick Cronin, director of the Asia-Pacific program at the Center for a New American Security. According to him, India is very concerned about the activity of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean, as Beijing is consistently preparing its aircraft carriers as springboards for future military operations.

Let me remind you that the two countries have territorial disputes in the border areas, which resulted in three military conflicts. The rivalry between them never stops, including at sea. At the moment, India has only one heavy aircraft carrier, the former Soviet Admiral Gorshkov. In 2013, it underwent modernization in Severodvinsk. But to resist two Chinese - now it will be extremely difficult for him.

In addition, in the South China Sea, Beijing has long disputed the Spartly Islands from several states at once. The PRC even has artificial islands that it has converted into military bases. Interested in China and the Senkaku Islands, currently recognized as Japanese territory.

Professor of the American Naval College Andrew Erickson agrees with the fact that Beijing is signaling its opponents with aircraft carriers. In his opinion, China will continue the construction of warships, which together will form an aircraft carrier group, similar to the American one.

Such a strategy is fully consistent with the official line of the state. As Chinese leader Xi Jinping stressed, speaking to the military, now the main thing is to adapt to the new system of military operations at sea, in which several branches of the military will be involved at once.

Today, China spends heavily on the Navy. Project 054 frigates with guided missiles, Type 052D destroyers and a number of other warships are being built. It is no coincidence that the Celestial Empire retained second place in military spending ($215 billion in 2016), far ahead of Russia in this regard.

MOSCOW, April 26 - RIA Novosti. The Chinese Navy will receive a second aircraft carrier. The Type 001A was the first ship of its kind built entirely in-house.

"The second Chinese aircraft carrier was launched on the morning of April 26 in the port of Dalian," the Xinhua news agency reported.

Fan Changlong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the ceremony. After the ribbon was cut, a traditional bottle of champagne was smashed against the side of the aircraft carrier.

Initially, the Chinese military planned to launch the aircraft carrier on April 23 - the day the national naval forces were founded. However, the ceremony was later postponed for several days.

What is Type 001A

Construction of China's first aircraft carrier own production started in November 2013. The ship was assembled by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company.

The new aircraft carrier is 315 meters long and 75 meters wide. The ship is capable of moving at a speed of 31 knot(more than 57 kilometers per hour).

According to Chinese media, 36 Jian-15 (J-15) fighters can be based on board the Type 001A.

Prior to the Type 001A, the Chinese Navy had only one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. However, it was built on the basis of the Soviet cruiser Varyag, which Beijing bought from Ukraine in 1998.

The Liaoning entered the fleet in September 2012, and in November of the same year, successful tests were announced to land the J-15 fighter on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Commenting on the launch of a new aircraft carrier, director of the Ho Chi Minh Institute, professor at the St. state university Vladimir Kolotov noted that this ship will become a new stage in the development of the Chinese aircraft carrier fleet.

“Unlike the rebuilt Soviet Varyag, the current Liaoning aircraft carrier, this will be a fully combat ship. And the Chinese use it more as a training ship. Plus, the equipment on the new, combat aircraft carrier, the Chinese will mostly have their own,” said Kolotov on the air of Sputnik radio.

According to the expert, in recent years, China has significantly modernized its military-industrial complex, which was previously based on Soviet developments. By 2021, Beijing plans to build another aircraft carrier of its own.

Kolotov noted that the Chinese have not yet been able to completely get away from the Soviet legacy during the construction of the Type 001A - the ship was built according to the same project as the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov.

"The Chinese aircraft carrier has been slightly modernized, the Chinese claim that they have corrected some of the shortcomings. This is understandable, the project was created in the 80s of the last century, now time has passed, technologies are changing, and we should talk about a deep modernization of the project. And the Chinese, of course, are they are trying to create something of their own on this base, especially since the Chinese industry, including electronic and military, already allows us to set and fulfill such ambitious tasks,” Vladimir Kolotov emphasized.

Who has the largest carrier fleet

Modern aircraft carriers are used as a mobile airfield on the high seas. The main striking force of ships of this type is carrier-based aviation.

In addition, all aircraft carriers are capable of carrying nuclear or missile weapons.

The US currently has the largest carrier fleet. The country's Navy is armed with 12 ships of this type, 10 more are in reserve.

The Americans used aircraft carrier groups in all the conflicts in which they participated.

The UK, Italy, Spain, India, France, Brazil, Thailand, China, Japan, Egypt and South Korea also have their own aircraft carriers.

As part of Russian Navy there is only one aircraft carrier - "Admiral Kuznetsov". It was launched in 1987, and since 1991 it has been on duty. The ship is designed to base and service 28 aircraft and 24 helicopters.

In November last year, Su-33 aircraft made their first sorties from the deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov and attacked terrorist positions in Syria. Since then, the cruiser has been involved in combat operations more than once.

On Wednesday, China launched its first aircraft carrier entirely of its own production, transmits China Xinhua News. According to Bloomberg, the ship may be named after the Chinese province of Shandong. Now she is waiting for tests and test voyages - the ship will be put into service in 2020. Its displacement will be 50 thousand tons, it will be based on J-15 fighters (Jian-15, a Chinese copy of the Su-33) and helicopters.

The launched ship became the second aircraft-carrying cruiser in service with the PRC. The first was the unfinished Soviet cruiser Varyag. Military expert Pavel Felgenhauer explained to Dozhd that in 1998 a commercial private Chinese company bought the Varyag from Ukraine. “Ukraine doesn’t need it at all, Russia also didn’t want to complete the construction,” the expert notes. It was originally intended that the ship would be used as a floating casino. The cruiser was later bought by the Chinese government. In 2012, after reconstruction, he received the name "Liaoning" and was put into service.

On the basis of the Varyag, a new one was built - a completely Chinese aircraft carrier. Compared to Liaoning, it is larger and has a number of changes. However, both of these ships are equipped with launch pads with a break-off angle of 14 and 12 degrees, respectively.

According to Bloomberg, China is going to build six aircraft carriers in total. This program is part of a strategy to create a "blue water fleet" - that is, one that can operate off the coast of the country. As recalled by the agency, the modernization of the People's Liberation Army of China was the main element of the agenda of Xi Jinping after he came to power in 2012. Three years later, "defence on the high seas" was listed among the main missions of the fleet, according to defense programs. Bloomberg notes that the new Chinese cruiser is being unveiled at a time when the US has deployed a strike group led by the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to the Western Pacific in response to tensions over North Korea.

However, as Pavel Felgenhauer notes, the aircraft carrier launched the day before is not yet a direct part of the new Chinese defense strategy.

“Ships of this class only look like aircraft carriers. They are useless from the point of view of classical aircraft carrier practice ... They do not have the necessary catapults and there are no vertical landing short takeoff aircraft, ”he recalls. In fact, this is a floating airfield for fighter aircraft - just like the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov. During the expedition to Syria, aircraft from it were forced to load and refuel at the Khmeimim base, which reduced the frequency of sorties.

However, the next Chinese ship in this series will most likely already be a rival to American aircraft carriers - although China will lag far behind the United States in terms of the number of such ships. As reported by the China South Morning Post, the third Chinese aircraft carrier, in particular, will be equipped with three steam catapults. According to the newspaper, the new ship will be presented in 2021.