CV-18 Fujian/003 CATOBAR carrier thread

Silkworm

New Member
Registered Member
The important thing is modern large CATOBAR carriers are all reasonably similar in layout. Also the fact that China has a Kuznetsov class carrier hull and will likely use it as basis for its own evolution is well known in 2008, or even 1998. So it is not hard for someone in 2008, or even 1998 to come up with a superficially reasonably accurate LOOKING forecast of what the first Chinese CATOBAR carrier would look like.

But once you get pass the unavoidable superficial similarity, I would say the 2008 artwork got almost everything where the Chinese designers are likely to exercise design decisions wrong.
I think that pic leaked from the CSIC boardroom only dates back 3 years.
 

Silkworm

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Since we are playing Monday morning quarterback, what about this artwork published in an SCMP article in 2020? If I recall correctly it might have been used in another article dated even earlier.

The artist certainly nailed it with the 2-lifts at a time when 3-lifts was the popular consensus.

003.jpg
 

Richard Santos

Captain
Registered Member
Yes, that’s a much better job, but then by 2020 it may be possible for a diligent snooper to determine how many elevator the carrier has by how many sets of pulleys were on some distant subcontractor’s order books. Or I suspected, the Chinese navy had already intentionally leaked this information.

The Chinese have gotten very good at communicating via unofficial leaks while keeping up a official screen of impenetrable and all covering official secrecy. That way you know what they want you to know without your naturally expecting to know more than they are willing to tell you, and they can reel back any expectation of information release later if they feel like it.
 

Paulo R Siqueira

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I doubt they'll park any aircraft on port (left) side of the flight deck with so little room left for error to recover planes. The deck area should be larger- compare with the USN CVN:
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Common sense indicates that the flight deck should be 74 to 80 meters wide. And at least 325 meters long. Out of simple necessity.
 
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