Latest PLAN Aircraft Carrier Info & Photos

Ahemm..Now if someone can translate Russian..Perhaps Mr Snake can explain that drawing in detail...Thank you.

Originally Posted by bd popeye

Ahemm..Now if someone can translate Russian..Perhaps Mr Snake can explain that drawing in detail...Thank you.

Sure I do.
No.3 is missile silos, No.4 is Central Comand Post, No.5 is Combat Information Post, No.6 is Airwing Command Post. So, it's a hell-of-a-lot of vital equipment, cabling etc. which lies between missiles and hangar. For me, it rules out ripping out the missiles to enlarge hangar space.

Originally Posted by snake65

Sure I do.
No.3 is missile silos, No.4 is Central Comand Post, No.5 is Combat Information Post, No.6 is Airwing Command Post. So, it's a hell-of-a-lot of vital equipment, cabling etc. which lies between missiles and hangar. For me, it rules out ripping out the missiles to enlarge hangar space.

Yep, there would be no point in trying to increase hangar space by removing the missile silos, because half of what makes the carrier function would have to be torn out and moved forward. Well, that shoots down my idea of possibly increasing hangar space by removing the missile silos. If the Chinese do in fact remove or have already removed those silos, what might be put in that space? Has anyone seen any recent photos that would show whether or not the SSM silos are still there?

Originally Posted by Norfolk

Yep, there would be no point in trying to increase hangar space by removing the missile silos, because half of what makes the carrier function would have to be torn out and moved forward. Well, that shoots down my idea of possibly increasing hangar space by removing the missile silos. If the Chinese do in fact remove or have already removed those silos, what might be put in that space? Has anyone seen any recent photos that would show whether or not the SSM silos are still there?

The problem is that the ship was not complete when it was sold to China. The state of her when sold meant that most of the interior has not been fitted. That means wiring, pipes, etc have not been installed. It is much easier to modify such a ship when it is already gutted.

Originally Posted by Pointblank

The problem is that the ship was not complete when it was sold to China. The state of her when sold meant that most of the interior has not been fitted. That means wiring, pipes, etc have not been installed. It is much easier to modify such a ship when it is already gutted.

The ship was 85 or around % ready in 1993. What do you mean, that it was an empty hulk? There is no such thing as easy modifying a ship which has been rusting for years - see Vikramaditya

Originally Posted by snake65

The ship was 85 or around % ready in 1993. What do you mean, that it was an empty hulk? There is no such thing as easy modifying a ship which has been rusting for years - see Vikramaditya

In 1994, from official sources, the ship was only 70% complete. Since it was constructed via the traditional method (not using the newer superblock method where everything is already pre-plumbed and wired), fully plumbing and wiring the ship would be required. I don't think the Russians and Ukrainians were able to get the funds to complete that. When a ship is built and launched in a traditional manner, it is in essence a empty hulk, as all the hull will have is usually the engines, some plumbing, etc, as most of the interior is not fitted at launch.

It would have been more of a problem if the wiring is actually installed. By now, if they did, insulator coatings can become brittle and crack by, causing electrical leakages and shorts. That would require you to rewire the entire thing again, which will cost you a lot more money. See the Gorshkov.

Even if the wiring is installed and still working, the wiring may not be up to the requirements of handling the more modern equipment, especially that for digital networking. So you may still have to uproot them, and install new ones.

Having no wiring is actually more of an accidental blessing.

latest Varyag photos I think. Can't see much except the bridge and that hasn't changed (or at least doesn't look like it changed) since the photos earlier this month.

Have any body seen this picture before? Many people are claiming this might be the steam catapult china is experimenting.

Is this psed image? The plane kind get into the tree, so I am not so sure. I know I should post this in the thread that deals with the aircraft carrier, but it kinda got closed so...

I don't believe, that a test-catapult ends several meters above the ground. I think, a test catapult will have enough normal runway available at its end for a cold shot.

That pic is at least three years old. It may have been in the old forum...

Originally Posted by tphuang

latest Varyag photos I think. Can't see much except the bridge and that hasn't changed (or at least doesn't look like it changed) since the photos earlier this month.

Don't they have to put the ship on dry dock in order to install engines and everything? Since Varyag has never been fitted on dry dock since she arrive Dalian, does that mean they didn't really do anything substantial to the ship?

Originally Posted by kw64

Don't they have to put the ship on dry dock in order to install engines and everything? Since Varyag has never been fitted on dry dock since she arrive Dalian, does that mean they didn't really do anything substantial to the ship?

The Varyag/Shi Lang did spend a few months in the New Dalian Shipyard drydock in the late spring and the summer of 2005. They did a very nice job on her from the pics we've seen. And Jeff, bd popeye, and Obi Wan are all agreed that there's no problem installing new machinery and the like as is. That said, as far as we know, the carrier hasn't been fitted with her engines and propulsion systems, and she still doesn't even have screws or a rudder. We've actually been waiting for her to be fitted-out, so she may be quite aways along already.

Originally Posted by Norfolk

Yep, there would be no point in trying to increase hangar space by removing the missile silos, because half of what makes the carrier function would have to be torn out and moved forward. Well, that shoots down my idea of possibly increasing hangar space by removing the missile silos. If the Chinese do in fact remove or have already removed those silos, what might be put in that space? Has anyone seen any recent photos that would show whether or not the SSM silos are still there?

why dont we install 12 DF-11 instead now we could attack carrier/land target with Ballistic Missiles.
i think might fit perfectly since P-700 is actually bigger than DF-11.

P-700 (SS-N-19)
Type: Long-range anti-ship cruise missile
Developed: Russia
Weight, kg: 7000
Length, m: 10.0
Body diameter, m: 0.85
Warhead: 750 kg HE (unknown composition, probably RDX or similar) or 500kt fission-fusion thermonuclear
Guidance: Inertial, active radar with home-on-jam, and Legenda satellite targeting system (believed to be nonfunctional after the fall of the USSR)
G limit: 16
Maximum Mach number: 2.5
Range, km: 600
Platforms: Kirov CGN, Kuznetsov CVG, Oscar SSGN

DF-11
Configuration: Single-stage
Length: 7.5m (DF-11); 8.5m (DF-11A)
Diameter: 0.8m
Launch weight: 4,200kg
Propellant: Solid fuel
Guidance: Inertial (DF-11); Inertial + GPS (DF-11A)
Range: 280~350km (DF-11); >500km (DF-11A)
Deployment: Road mobile, 8X8 crosscountry chassis
Warhead: 500kg HE
Accuracy: CEP 500~600m (DF-11); <200m (DF-11A)
Launch preparation time: 15~30 min