From Henri K
Finished the 7th test at sea, the 2nd Chinese aircraft carrier will enter service this year
BY
From the port of Dalian on Aug. 1 for its seventh exit to the sea, the new Chinese class aircraft carrier "Type 002" returned last Friday after its longest test campaign that lasted 22 days.
This 2nd aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy, designed by the engineers of the 701 Institute Naval Group CSIC on the basis of Project 1134.5
Varyag which became the 16
Liaoning today, should therefore be admitted to active service, without much surprise, before the end of the year, as
when the building was still on dry dock.
Apart from the Chinese Navy receiving its 2nd aircraft carrier, the year 2019 should also be marked by several naval events such as the launch of the 1st Type 075 Assault Helicopter Helicopter currently under construction at Hudong Shipyard. -Zhonghua in Shanghai, and by the possible docking of the 3rd aircraft carrier at Jiangnan Changxing shipyard, also located in Shanghai
The 2nd Chinese aircraft carrier returned to Dalian port on August 23 (Photos: 香港 文匯 網)
If the institutional media have not disclosed any details on this new release of "Type 002" whose name and hull number are still unknown, it is still known that it took place in the Yellow Sea, in a maritime area 3,387 km² and bounded by a perimeter of 233 km.
The tests seem to have been organized in two stages, first from August 1st to 4th, which is announced by the LN-0148 maritime safety notification (辽 航 警 0148), then from August 6th to 22nd by another LN-0159 notification. for exactly the same area. Civil or unauthorized vessels are advised not to enter the perimeter for "
military maneuvers ".
辽航警0148
黄海北部, 8月1日1200时至4日1000时,在
1. 38 ° 45'N 122 ° 23'E
2. 38 ° 45'N 123 ° 05'E
3. 38 ° 15'N 123 ° 05'E
4. 38 ° 15'N 122 ° 23'E
诸 点 连线范围内执行军事任务.禁止驶入.
辽航警0159
黄海北部, 8月6日1200时至22日1800时,在
1. 38 ° 45'N 122 ° 23'E
2. 38 ° 45'N 123 ° 05'E
3. 38 ° 15'N 123 ° 05'E
4. 38 ° 15'N 122 ° 23'E
诸 点 连线范围内执行军事任务.禁止驶入.
The zone reserved for the 7th test campaign of the new Chinese aircraft carrier (Image: East Pendulum)
Although the Chinese navy has not yet received its new aircraft carrier, and therefore the data are not yet complete, but the comparison of test times initiated by the aircraft carrier 16
Liaoning and his quasi-sister-ship gives already some interesting findings.
For example, we can see that it was not until the 9th exit that
Liaoning made its longest 25-day trial, while the "Type 002" was at the same result on its 7th outing.
The new Chinese aircraft carrier also made shorter outings, averaging less than 9 days on its first 6 outings, before reaching its long test run, compared with more than 10 days on average of the 8 first exits from
Liaoning .
In sum, the outputs of the "Type 002" are shorter, more spaced, but also less numerous, at least according to the figures so far. This could therefore suggest an evolution of the test program as well as the military standards associated with the aircraft carriers in the Chinese army but also in the naval industry, made possible probably by the feedback from
Liaoning
It should be noted that satellite images showed that the new Chinese aircraft carrier was making rounds at sea. If we do not know the date and the exact location of these spatial clichés, some media do not hesitate to use the term "Williamson turn" to qualify these maneuvers.
However, according to a former technical officer of the Chinese Navy, these circles seen by commercial satellites are simply part of the nominal tests of all ships, military or civilian. Vessels under test should perform 3-speed and 2-rudder tests, once for each rim, 12 trials in total. The circles observed have little to do with the Williamson turrn
