That's the back half of something like a Zumwalt on the right? 058?
00X/004 future nuclear CATOBAR carrier thread
- Thread starter AETHER
- Start date
Don't think we should look too much into that, although yes, it does seem quite a unique 'back' that we haven't seen before.
A while back JN's WeChat account used this art. Looks somewhat the same.
There used to be tons of rumours regarding the PLAN's carrier programme. Nowadays it's a lot quieter.
Some people used to say that Dalian and Jiangnan would build a 003 each. Some people also said that only Jiangnan would build 003 while Dalian upgraded its facilities to handle nuclear propulsion systems. And the stupidest period was when a lot of people thought that 003 would be nuclear. At least now we know how everything turned out for 003.
With a healthy dose of hopium, maybe Jiangnan and Dalian can now build a 004 each. Or is that too optimistic?
In case anyone wants that pic JN's wechat account posted.
Maybe, they will tril these EM catapult a lot before strating anything else.
I certainly hope this is the case. It also makes a lot of sense now.
We know PLAN has been following a three-step roadmap envisioned/approved around 2004 for its carrier development program: Step 1, conventional STOVL carrier aka Varyag/Liaoning; Step 2, medium-weight conventional CATOBAR, now materialized as 003 Fujian; and Step 3, nuclear-powered CATOBAR carrier.
Since then, there have been some minor adjustments to the original vision & roadmap. The biggest change was adding 002 Shandong, a slightly modified version of 001 Liaoning, at the insistence of top CMC leadership to reduce the risks. This appeared to be a slowdown of the development pace. On the other hand, the 003, incorporating EMALS and weighing over 80,000 tons, was ahead of the planned and projected development pace.
I had hoped and predicted that they would build at least another 003 if not more, given how 003 having met China's current and intermediate term needs and the deteriorating geopolitical environment. However, we're not seeing the emergence of the second 003 and it looks increasingly less likely there will be one, even though we still can not rule it out 100%.
With all the bits and pieces information and leaks in the last few years, it has almost appeared that both Dalian and JNCX are preparing for yet another carrier respectively and that the next carrier is likely to be a nuclear-powered one. This indicates that PLAN is moving to the Step 3 of the roadmap, which is also the final step. It now makes sense for PLAN to start serial build the target CVN.
In that case, it will make sense for both Dalian and JNCX to build a 100,000-ton class, nuclear-powered EMALS carrier, in relatively short order.
I guess we will see.
I agree, I feel like eventual dual yard carrier production was always gonna be the plan when we learned that both DL and JN were capable of building carriers, and it would only be a matter of time till we saw it.
I think back in the early 2010s it wasn't expected that they would move onto CVN after only one conventional CATOBAR CV, and the idea of going into dual or overlapping two yard CVN construction would be surprising.
Will be interesting to see how carrier production and nuclear submarine ramp up will track with each other
Plus the massive change to NAF force design let alone multiple new airbase constructions we are witnessing. World's changing fast. The new power dynamic with GCC countries and BRI cooperation also warrant force projection needs that might totally be beyond their vision just a few years ago, let alone when they first start to strive for a carrier capability. I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see two or even three carriers under construction.