Latest satellite image. Stern looks complete or at least very close to complete:
00X/004 future nuclear CATOBAR carrier thread
- Thread starter AETHER
- Start date
A SSS-class super aircraft carrier with a deck over 350m and displacement over 120kt, only built in 3 years, OMG...
I can't image Trump's expression when the ship is launched at late 2027. He must call Xi "Daddy, I can't envy more. You're my daddy and the true KING".
Who told you that the 004 CVN will be over 350 meters long and over 120000 tons displacement in the first place?
Can people stop with this kind of low-effort + cringe postings in the flagship military threads?
It may be helpful to judge the waterline length from the image made according to the existing image combined with the paper and the known dry dock length.
Could more versed folks clarify a bit the image above, i see 003 is mentioned, what the numbers representing, 370 must be drydock length, but what about 326, is it the length of what we see in the drydock or is it the length mentioned in the paper? I assume 43 is waterline beam.
lcloo
Major
That is the measurement of the 003 hull in satellite image.
Top right in reverse mirror of “003型航母水线_臭猫工厂” which translated as "Type 003 aircraft carrier water line_Stinky Cat Factory".
Although Stinky Cat said that image showed the water line, but in reality there is no affirmative conformation of his words, so just take the benefits of doubt. I don't think anyone can confirmed that assembled hull at that stage of time is below water line, at water line or above water line.
It would be better if we can find official figures but I doubt we can.
According to @水雷屋 on Weibo, based on the insider information that he has gathered so far (from some related suppliers involved in construction projects), there should be no such thing as a so-called "Type 003 #2 ship, i.e. sister ship to Fujian" in the south (Jiangnan). Otherwise, there would be no reason for its hull sections/modules to remain unseen until now.
How this should be interpreted, that Jiangnan will not be building another carrier soon (which would be a real bummer), or that they will build one, but likely it will be a 004 sister rather than a 003 repeat?
The best way to interpret this is that there won't be a sister ship to Fujian, whether with no/minor improvements or major improvements compared to Fujian.
Whether Jiangnan will commence construction on a new carrier within the current 5YP (2026 - 2030) - There is no reliable answer at the current moment.
We should just treat that as a "No".
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Taking Dabao’s CGI renders as a reference, the existence of large multi-role fighters like the J-15 and the J-XDS (a similarly-sized aircraft likely to yield a carrier-based variant) makes it highly probable that the PLAN will not build another sister ship based on the Fujian platform. It is widely recognized that the Fujian’s flight deck space remains quite constrained—both in its transverse and longitudinal dimensions—and the hangar size has not seen a significant expansion compared to the previous two carriers.
I suspect they will construct a new CV class in JN with a scale no smaller than that of the Nimitz class. To err on the side of caution, they will likely continue to utilize oil-fired boilers for propulsion rather than the yet-to-mature CGT-50 gas turbines.
The only lingering question is whether China has mastered the high-power supercharged marine boiler technology comparable to the Russian KVG-6 or those used on the American Kitty Hawk class. While the introduction of EMALS means boilers no longer need to divert precious steam pressure to the catapults, the A03 boilers used on the Fujian may still prove inadequate if directly transplanted as the primary propulsion source for an even larger platform.
I suspect they will construct a new CV class in JN with a scale no smaller than that of the Nimitz class. To err on the side of caution, they will likely continue to utilize oil-fired boilers for propulsion rather than the yet-to-mature CGT-50 gas turbines.
The only lingering question is whether China has mastered the high-power supercharged marine boiler technology comparable to the Russian KVG-6 or those used on the American Kitty Hawk class. While the introduction of EMALS means boilers no longer need to divert precious steam pressure to the catapults, the A03 boilers used on the Fujian may still prove inadequate if directly transplanted as the primary propulsion source for an even larger platform.