Posted on 11/02/2017 3:25:58 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
A technological breakthrough in naval propulsion will enable Chinas second home-grown aircraft carrier to use the worlds most advanced jet launch system without having to resort to nuclear power, overcoming a huge hurdle in the vessels development, military sources said.
The development of the integrated propulsion system (IPS) would allow the vessel to be more efficient, allowing more power for an electromagnetic catapult, rather than a less technologically advanced steam-driven catapult launch system, the sources said.
Chinas first two carriers, the Liaoning and its sister ship, the Type 001A, are conventionally powered vessels equipped with Soviet-designed ski-jump launch systems.
But an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) on the Type 002, Chinas second home-grown aircraft carrier, would mean less wear and tear on the planes and allow more aircraft to be launched in a shorter time than the ski and steam-catapult systems.
According to a source close to the Peoples Liberation Army, Chinas Central Military Commission was keen to use EMALS on the Type 002.
[But] the obstacle was whether a conventionally powered carrier would be able to support EMALS, and now that problem has been solved, the person, who is close to the PLAs equipment department, told the South China Morning Post.
The solution was provided by a team led by Chinas top naval engineer Rear Admiral Ma Weiming, which developed a medium-voltage, direct-current transmission network to replace an earlier system based on alternating current.
A comparison of two Chinas home-grown carriers As a result, the CMC, which is chaired by President Xi Jinping, has said the development of the Type 002, which had long been delayed, would get under way soon, the source said.
As a result, the CMC, which is chaired by President Xi Jinping, has said the development of the Type 002, which had long been delayed, would get under way soon, the source said.
Wang Ping, an expert in military technology at the Institute of Electrical Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, said the innovative design meant that high-energy consuming launch systems and weapons could now be used on a vessel driven by conventional power.
It wasnt just a simple switch from alternating to direct current, but a complete overhaul of the energy supply and distribution system from steam boilers to the energy storage device, he said.
Wang added that in the future, the same technology could be used to launch not just aircraft, but also missiles and satellites, and maybe even power high-speed trains.
A naval expert close to the carrier project confirmed that the CMC was now planning to proceed with the new power option.
China doesnt need to copy the United States and use nuclear reactors to support EMALS and other energy-hungry weapons on the ship, because it now has more advanced technologies to solve the problem, the naval expert said.
The use of new power systems on the Type 002 is in line with the goals set out in Xis work report delivered at last months national Communist Party congress that Chinas military should modernise by 2035 and become a top-ranked force by 2050.
China now has mature technologies [and] the PLA is narrowing the gap with the US, the naval expert said.
He added that the US used an integrated propulsion system on its first USS Zumwalt-class destroyer, which was launched in 2013, but that it was not as advanced as the second-generation technology developed by Ma and his team.
In March, Ma, who is based at the PLA Naval University of Engineering in the central China city of Wuhan, told state broadcaster CCTV that the ultimate aim of his work on the IPS technology was to solve the problem of deploying high-energy weapons from ships.
He also said on the sidelines of the annual National Peoples Congress in Beijing that Chinas EMALS technology was more advanced and more reliable than the system used on the nuclear-powered USS Gerald Ford supercarrier.
The worlds largest and most expensive super warship and the first to use both EMALS and advanced arresting gear completed its maiden arrested landing and launch operation in late July, a week after its commission to the US Navy.
Additional reporting by Stephen Chen
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: New carrier to use breakthrough launch system
Super capacitor?
Okay, our turn now to come up with something even more advanced. Under Prez Trump, all things are possible.
Just one little bitty EMP and all of the aircraft are just deck toys.
They may be using the technology we developed for USS Ford CVN-78.
likely
this is a yawn - their govt flunkies are just as bombastic as ours
Sure... if you don’t care about the launch & recovery rate. This is another test-bed ship. The ‘real’ carrier is having it’s components checked out on the first 2 or 3 vessels launched. Baby-steps. But this is the way you do it.
“A technological breakthrough in naval propulsion...”
Stolen American technology or more likely just handed over to them by the Obama administration.
It is difficult to make. Our system is having problems. China should have used the old technology. This will flop imo.
Wow a super secret amazing new Tech breakthrough..!!
wow, I wonder where China got it...
“Just one little bitty EMP and all of the aircraft are just deck toys.”
You really got to get off the Internet rumor that EMP destroys all things electrical. It makes you sound retarded.
Retarded is not knowing what one was implying. If they are controlling it digitally, which is the most likely because discrete switching takes up too much space . . . .
And, unless I misunderstand, an EMP is non-discriminatory. It will impact ALL electronics (unless hardened to withstand such).
Reduces the chances the Chinese (or anyone else) will actually use one in a fight, in my humble opinion. Why blind your opponent if you’re also going to be blind and dead in the water?
There are ways to protect from EMP. I won’t go into details but they have existed since we first detected them.
Do you know how many squadrons of aircraft have been qualified to carry out flight operations?
5.56mm
Oh, I know there are ways to protect one’s electronics. But, if one side protects their electronics, and has the cables, and devices hardened and in protected space, and subsequently sets off an EMP, what happens is nothing. Because BOTH sides have set in protections. MAD, indeed.
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