China’s third aircraft provider, known as Type 004, is taking form at the Dalian factory, a next-generation vehicle built for strength prediction with potential nuclear engine and cutting-edge electric launch technology, The War Zone reported.
A package that is compatible with a trip deck and advanced slingshot systems for launching plane, including the J-15 and Z-8 mockups seen outside in the recently released satellite imagery from May 2024, is visible.
Considering legal assembly standards and the presence of mockups that have previously been used for other carriers, the module may be a check or demonstrator segment. The factory, known for constructing China’s earlier Type 001 Liaoning and Type 002 Shandong companies, supports the continued marine growth.
The possible nuclear-powered Type 004 represents a major step in China’s ship features. It features an electric airplane start program ( EMALS), similar to the US Navy’s Ford course, which is gentler on airframes, has a faster recharge rate for more sorties, and can start heavier and more varieties of aircraft.
Those aircraft may include the J-15 with more fuel and munitions and the propeller-driven KJ-600 carrier-based airborne warning and control ( AEW&, C ). If so, it might cause China’s carrier’s heat arms to match the US’s.
However, Louis Bearn and Nick Childs mention in a November 2024 International Institute for Strategic Studies ( IISS) article that China must still learn the complexities of catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery ( CATOBAR ) carrier operations.
Bearn and Childs note that, at the time of their writing, the testing of China’s second EMALS-equipped ship, the conventional powered Type 003 Fujian, appear to be at the level of familiarizing the team with the boat’s functions and technologies.
They note that the US Navy took six years for its first EMALS-equipped carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, to go to sea and become fully operational.
Whether Type 004 will be conventional or nuclear-powered is unclear, with arguments for each power plant option.
According to the Associated Press ( AP ), China had created a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship in November 2024, using satellite images of a sizable facility outside Leshan in Sichuan province.
Further, Reuben Johnson mentions in a 1945 article this month that the prototype reactor may not be deployed on China’s upcoming Type 004 and Type 005 carriers but on its Type 006 carrier. According to Johnson, the propulsion system on China’s Type 006 won’t be known until 2026 or the beginning of 2027.
Johnson is interesting to note that China didn’t create a new nuclear reactor for its aircraft carrier rather than repurpose existing ones, like those used to power its Type 093 and Type 094 ballistic missile submarines ( SSBN).
He suggests that China might have taken lessons from France’s experience with changing nuclear reactor designs for its Triomphant SSBNs, Barracuda SSNs, and Charles De Gaulle aircraft carriers because the altered design failed to meet specific performance standards.
However, Asia Times has previously noted that China’s Type 004 will likely be nuclear-powered. A nuclear-powered carrier would provide long-range power projection without the need for forward operating bases or replenishment ships, be a significant prestige asset for China, and provide the necessary power for EMALS technology, given that China already has nuclear-powered submarines operating.
Because China has adopted an evolutionary approach to carrier design, the Type 003 Fujian may offer some clues as to the specifications of its possible Type 004 carrier.
This approach is evident as China expanded its carrier fleet by converting the Soviet-era Varyag hulk to the Type 001 Liaoning, creating the improved Type 002 Shandong, and introducing the Type 003 Fujian, which is a significant design improvement.
According to Naval Technology, the Type 003 Fujian may have an 80, 000-ton displacement, making it comparable to the US Kitty Hawk-class carrier, the last class of conventionally powered US carriers.
Naval Technology also says the Type 003 Fujian could carry around 50-60 aircraft, including J-15 and J-35 fighters alongside KJ-600 AEW&, C.
The report mentions that China’s Type 004 will likely be a larger iteration of the Type 003 Fujian, which may be nuclear-powered and have a 100, 000-ton displacement, rivaling the USS Nimitz and Ford-class supercarriers.
In terms of capabilities, Maya Carlin mentions in The National Interest ( TNI ) this month that while the EMALS technology aboard China’s Type 003 Fujian may be on par with its US counterparts, US carriers can carry up to 75 aircraft versus an estimated maximum of 60 for China’s.
Carlin also notes that the US has 11 nuclear-powered carriers, while China has only three conventionally powered ones. However, she notes that China is determined to meet or exceed the US Navy’s capabilities in the future.
Although there are varying estimates for the number of nuclear-powered carriers China plans to construct and how many of them are, the South China Morning Post (SCMP ) stated in February 2019 that China plans to have six carriers by 2035, four of which will be nuclear-powered.
China could use its conventionally powered carriers, such as the Type 001 Liaoning, Type 002 Shandong and Type 003 Fujian, to blockade Taiwan and control the First Island Chain, stretching from Japan to Taiwan and the Philippines.
Conventional power limits these carriers ‘ operational range, making it necessary for them to operate a little closer to China for resupply and refueling.
Nuclear-powered aircraft would not be subject to that restriction, and China would be able to power the region’s Bonin and Volcano Islands, Marianas Islands, Caroline Islands, and Western New Guinea in the Pacific.
These carriers could also operate under a “missile umbrella” made up of DF-21 and DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missiles ( ASBM ) based on the Chinese mainland, preventing a disastrous carrier-carrier collision with the US, similar to the Battle of Midway in World War II, where Japan lost four fleet carriers and the strategic initiative in the Pacific Theater.