China is about to launch a third aircraft carrier?

On May 27, the China Maritime Safety Administration issued a notice about the cleaning of piers 3 and 4 at the Jiangnan shipyard on Changxun island. This is where the Type 003 aircraft carrier was built.

According to the notice, the cleaning will take place from 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 31. This operation involved 5 ships, including 3 tugboats and 2 salvage ships.

The move shows that the Jiangnan shipyard is preparing to launch a new aircraft carrier, naval experts said.

“The latest satellite image shows that the Type 003 ship has been covered with a large object, so that commercial ships cannot observe the shipbuilding activity. Obstacles need to be cleared so that the Type 003 can go out to sea.”said Lu Li-shih, a former lecturer at the Taiwan Naval Academy (China).

According to him, the launching ceremony will mark the completion of ship construction at the terrestrial stage. Next, the ship will be put into trial run and fitted with equipment based on sea trials.

SCMP also cite the source military news Specializing in China’s aircraft carrier projects, the launching ceremony of the Type 003 will take place during the Dragon Boat Festival.

“The aircraft carrier needs to do sea trials as soon as possible. It may take several years to assess the ship’s normal operating capabilities.” information resource SCMP let me know..

Jiangnan Shipyard had to work very hard to complete the construction of the Type 003 aircraft carrier. The mission took place in the state that many disease control measures were implemented in Shanghai, with nearly 4,000 people returning to work. work on the ship from the end of April.

China’s Type 003 civilian aircraft carrier has a flat flight deck equipped with three launch systems, similar to the world’s most modern aircraft carriers. The vessel is expected to be named after Jiangsu province, in line with the regulations on naming coastal provinces from north to south.

Liaoning is China’s first aircraft carrier. This boat was converted from an old warship bought from Ukraine. After commissioning the Liaoning in 2012, the Chinese military continued to build the first domestic aircraft carrier, Shandong. The Shandong ship was commissioned in December 2019.

Up to now, only the Liaoning aircraft carrier has achieved preliminary combat capability, the most basic level of combat readiness with military equipment.

China plans to build at least four aircraft carrier battle groups by 2030 in an ambition to become a modern “blue water navy”, the world’s second largest after the US.