8 replies to this topic

[tank50us]

I've been poking around the web, hoping to find some warships to fill the Chinese unit list for a game I'm designing (Tides of War). However, I have stumbled on something interesting. Apparently, China is working on their own indiginous Aircraft Carrier.




Now it is possible this could just be the Ex-Soviet Carrier 'Varyag', and not something of their design. However, this does point out Chinas willingness to possess a Blue Water Navy. If you have any information, or know of some other warships that will fit the bill for Tides of War, by all means, share it.

Ship types required, *=denotes optional
Scout
Fast Attack Submarine
Patrol Craft
Corvette
Picket
Frigate
Destroyer
Cruiser
Capital
Battlecruiser*
Aircraft Carrier
Battleship*
Ballistic Missile Submarine
Assault Carrier*
Battlecarrier*
Transport
Assault Ship
Landing Craft
Cargo Vessel
Resupply Ship
Mine Layer
Command, Control, and Intelligence (CCI)

Thanks in advance

Edited by tank50us, 27 October 2008 - 16:52.

[CommanderJB]

Dunno if you'd heard by now, but the answer is 'yes'.

Quote

China to start construction of 1st aircraft carriers next year
BEIJING--China will begin construction of the country's first domestically produced aircraft carriers in Shanghai next year, with an eye to completing two mid-sized carriers by 2015, military and shipbuilding sources said.

Beijing is also expected to complete work on a never-finished former Soviet aircraft carrier moored in the northeastern port of Dalian, to provide training for carrier-based pilots and crew.

The two 50,000- to 60,000-ton carriers will rely on conventional propulsion systems, not nuclear power. They will be assigned to the People's Liberation Army Navy south sea fleet, tasked with patrolling the South China Sea, sources said.

China's carrier ambitions and the build-up of its blue-water fleet have long been of interest to Pacific nations.

National defense ministry spokesman Huang Xueping recently commented that China might build its own aircraft carriers.

However, this is the first time the goals of Chinese naval planners have been clarified in such detail.

If China does bolster its naval combat capabilities by deploying aircraft carriers, it could significantly impact the delicate military balance in East Asia.

According to sources close to Shanghai municipal authorities, one of the world's largest shipbuilding facilities was completed this fall on Changxingdao island at the mouth of the Changjiang river near Shanghai.

One of the four docks there is for construction of the aircraft carriers, they said.

Shipbuilding sources said there are plans to import electrical control parts from Russia and that orders have already been placed with domestic military suppliers.

If procurement goes as planned, the carriers could be completed about two years earlier than planned.

Meanwhile, shipbuilders in Dalian are nearing completion of the 60,000-ton former Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier Varyag, as a training ship for carrier-borne aircraft pilots and crew. The ship, which was about 70 percent complete at the time of its purchase, was first acquired by a Macao tourism firm in 1998. Since 2002, it has been under construction by a Dalian-based shipbuilder with ties to the navy.

A ranking Chinese navy officer told The Asahi Shimbun that as China increasingly relies on Mideast oil, the aircraft carriers would likely see duty guarding sea lanes in the Malacca Strait and in the Indian Ocean. The officer contended that because the ships will be smaller than U.S. carriers they will not pose a threat.

Ikuo Kayahara, a professor of security studies at Takushoku University and a former research department director at the National Institute for Defense Studies, said China's plan to build aircraft carriers is a "key pillar to enhancing its naval capabilities."

"China hopes to broaden its buffer zone to protect its coasts from a perceived threat from the United States," Kayahara said.(IHT/Asahi: December 31,2008)

As you see, not only an answer to the question of the Varyag but also those Su-33s they've been looking at as well. It'll probably take them a while to build a credible CVBG capability but they are certainly on the right track.

[tank50us]

lovely, and I thought they'd simply buy the world

[Wizard]

Well as the Chinese have been building the world for the last 12 or so years it's about time they made some things of their own. China's yards have been prolific during the boomtime and to be honest it is a logical step for them to now support the harshly hit ship building industry with these new builds.

[CommanderJB]

I don't think they have the logistics in place to be able to support round-the-world cruises with these things straight off the bat (for example, their recent deployment of 2 destroyers and a tender to support the anti-pirate efforts in the Gulf of Aden was their first foreign operational military deployment - ever) as their strategy has, up 'til now, extended to the 'second island chain' - Japan, basically. However, given that they just put the finishing touches on the largest military dock on Earth, I don't think there's any question that they'll be able to project a lot of power before long.

[D.K.]

Correct me if I'm wrong... but that thing looks like pure rip-off of either Varyag or Admiral Kuznetsov, though if it will work, it's already good for them

[kanan]

long live the peoples republic of china!!!

[Alie]

Reminds me of this -
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=RmFISV6zjcU

[CommanderJB]

DrugKoala, on 7 Jan 2009, 1:05, said:

Correct me if I'm wrong... but that thing looks like pure rip-off of either Varyag or Admiral Kuznetsov, though if it will work, it's already good for them

That's because it IS the Varyag, in dry dock in Dalian as it has been for the past six or so years. The photo isn't particularly recent as it's since been repainted in PLAN grey, but nonetheless, it shows you in what sort of state it used to be in. No-one knows what the new carriers will look like as construction hasn't yet begun and China is not exactly known for being forthcoming about its military ambitions.
However, because the Admiral Kuznetsov-class fits neatly into the 60,000 tonne category, a lot of people are beginning to suspect China's indigenous carrier may not be all that, well, indigenous. We'll see - personally I sort of expect a halfway point between the Admiral Kuznetsov and Queen Elizabeth classes - but China does have something of an impressive track record of blatantly ripping off designs that they've only recently begun to buck.

Alie, on 7 Jan 2009, 7:24, said:

Reminds me of this -
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=RmFISV6zjcU

You probably know but this link explains what's actually going on.

Edited by CommanderJB, 06 January 2009 - 23:23.