China's New Aircraft Carrier Goes to Sea(trials) (Patreon)
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The Type003 Fujian completed 8 days of sea trials on May 8th.
A major limitation of this platform is its conventional powertrain pushing 80K tons around. It burns an enormous amount of fuel every hour severely limiting it's endurance.
The Fujian features a “catapult assisted take-off but arrested recovery” (CATOBAR) launch system that will enable it to launch heavier and larger fixed-wing aircraft. China’s first two aircraft carriers rely on less advanced ski jump-style “short take-off, barrier-arrested recovery” (STOBAR) systems.
The Fujian’s catapults are powered by an electromagnetic system similar to that of the U.S. Navy’s Gerald R. Ford-class carriers. This represents a leapfrogging past more conventional steam-powered catapults.
The Fujian is larger than its predecessors, which will enable it to support a more robust airwing. It displaces roughly 80,000 tonnes, compared to the Liaoning’s 60,000 tonnes and the Shandong’s 66,000. The Fujian is also considerably larger than France’s Charles de Gaulle carrier (42,000 tonnes) and the United Kingdom’s HMS Queen Elizabeth (65,000 tonnes), but smaller than the U.S. Navy’s Ford-class carrier (100,000 tonnes).
While the Fujian will be more advanced than its Chinese predecessors, it will still be conventionally powered rather than nuclear-powered. Meanwhile, all U.S. carriers and France’s Charles de Gaulle are nuclear-powered.
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