China Secretly Constructing an Aircraft Carrier(54planes,13choppers,deployment in 2008)

Chosun Ilbo ^ | 06/30/05 | Song Ui-dal

[TigerLikesRooster]

/begin my translation

China Secretly Constructing an Aircraft Carrier

Hong Kong Economic Daily(Jing-ji-ri-bao) reports

2005/06/30

China recently completed the final design for an Chinese aircraft carrier, and start in early August to construct it in secret at Jiang-nan Shipyard, Zhang-xing Island near Shanghai, reported the June 29th issue of Hong Kong Economic Daily(Jing-ji-ri-bao,) quoting (Chinese) high-level military sources.

Costing 3 billion yuan(390 million dollars), which takes up 3% of Chinese military budget, this carrier, due to be completed next year if everything goes well, has top speed 30 knots per hour and  its maximal displacement is 78,000 ton. It is equipped with Russian engines and radars.

It will carry 54 fighter planes and 13 anti-submarine helicopters, and the introduction of latest Russian fighters(Su-33) is also in the works. When it would be in service in 2008, it is expected to boost Chinese naval strength.

The paper reports, "Zhang Guang-qin, vice minister of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, denied the rumor that a carrier is under construction. However, he emphasized  it is the sacred duty of the Chinese navy to safeguard the country's sovereignty of territorial waters. It is in this context which they go for the construction of the carrier."

(Song Ui-dal, reporting from Hong Kong)

/end my translation

[datura]

In order for them to get this done this fast, it's got to be the Varyag - they just resumed work on it again.

I sure hope that they get the Russians to help them in their carrier ops.....When the US Navy did carrier ops with the Russians it took the Russians 8 HOURS to empty the deck, while our guys did it in 45 minutes.

Landings? NOT. The Russian's most experienced pilot - the commander - refused to do the on deck landing, and went to shore. Of course the rest followed.

[Right Wing Assault]

Maybe they are building it in an underground bunker a mile down. Maybe they haven't thought about how they are going to bring it up to the water.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Yeah, I wouldn't be working that flight deck if they gave me corporate executive pay.

[Non-Sequitur]

Head into a 20 knot wind at 30 knots and you have the equivilent of 50 knots of wind over your deck. That's how they do it.

[Fitzcarraldo]

LOL, this is the cover story for why they are moving the shipyard:

http://english.people.com.cn/200308/13/eng20030813_122230.shtml

"Old Chinese Shipyard to Make Way for 2010 Shanghai World Expo Site

A Shanghai shipyard with more than 130 years of history is being moved to make way for 2010 Shanghai World Expo, said the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) Tuesday.

A Shanghai shipyard with more than 130 years of history is being moved to make way for 2010 Shanghai World Expo, said the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) Tuesday.

Shanghai city has decided to rebuild the Huangpu River frontagewhere the Jiangnan Shipyard is now located now into a modern business and residential area for the expo.

The city will build a new shipyard at Changxing island near themouth of the Yangtze River as a new home for Jiangnan Shipyard..."

[Right Wing Assault]

"No angled deck?" Solly, captain. I KNEW we follgot something!

[Dog Gone]

"Slave labor" at FR means labor costs lower than American wages, right?

[kerryusama04]

That's my point, dude. No wind, no planes. 2 harpoons or TASM's and all those planes and helo's go swimming.

I'm ex-Navy and love an excuse for the country to build up the fleet.

[Right Wing Assault]

Shanghai city has decided to rebuild the Huangpu River frontagewhere the Jiangnan Shipyard is now located now into a modern business and residential area for the expo.

That's it! They are disguising the thing as a "modern business and residential area"? What a great plan!

[fso301]

Nobody is being fooled by these oppressive commies...not at all

Communist China is part of history. The current Chinese system more closely resembles that of a fascist nation. It's just that nobody is willing to admit it.

[Fitzcarraldo]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GF07Ad01.html

Greater China

Jun 7, 2005

Ground broken for huge Shanghai shipyard

BEIJING - Construction started on Friday on what will become the world's largest shipyard, marking a major step forward in China's ambition to become the world's leading shipbuilder.

In the first phase of the US$3.6 billion project, the Jiangnan Shipyard Corp, a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), is relocating to Changxing Island to make way for Shanghai Expo 2010. The Jiangnan Shipyard will expand its shipbuilding capacity from the current 800,000 deadweight tons (DWT) a year to 4.5 million by 2010. The yard's first ship is expected to be delivered by 2009.

In the second phase of development, CSSC's subsidiaries, such as Hudong and Waigaoqiao, will add more yards along Changxing island's eight-kilometer coastline. By 2015, CSCC is expected to have an annual capacity of 8 million DWTs, half of China's current production capacity. By then, Changxing is expected to have become the world's largest shipyard. Shanghai will also become the world's largest shipbuilding base, tripling its capacity to 12 million DWTs by 2015. "The central government has called on China to become the largest shipbuilder in the world. The Changxing base is the most important step forward in this plan," said CSSC General Manager Chen Xiaojin on Friday.

The shipbuilding industry is valuable to the Chinese government since it promotes domestic manufacturing and machinery industries, creates job opportunities and revenue, and improves the country's naval capability. The country's shipbuilding industry has achieved an annual average growth of 17% over the past few years and China now accounts for a quarter of the world's shipbuilding market, up from less than 5% five years ago. Japan and South Korea each account for one-third of the global shipbuilding market. "With the construction of Changxing, we are breathing down the necks of Japan and South Korea," Xu Lunfang, senior engineer at CSSC's Chengxi Shipyard, said. "The market competition is set to intensify."

Chen said the Changxing yard offers CSSC an unprecedented opportunity to develop its business, as the global shipbuilding market is still expanding. The yard will also increase Chinese production of high-tech and high-value-added ships, including liquefied natural gas carriers and oil supertankers.

Friday also witnessed the 140th anniversary of the Jiangnan Shipyard. The yard was founded in 1865, during the former Qing Dynasty, and was the first factory in China to produce steel, naval ships and steel cannon. Previously known as Jiangnan Machine Manufacturing, it was renamed Jiangnan Shipbuilding Works in 1912. Also known as the Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works, in the 1920s the shipyard built six new river gunboats to replace old gunboats on the Yangtze for the US Navy's South China Patrol. In the closing days of World War II, the docks at Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works were used to repair US Navy ships. The facility was renamed the Jiangnan Shipyard in 1949. In 1996 the yard was transformed into the solely state-owned Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Company Limited.

The yard is regarded as cradle of China's national shipping industry. With more than 130 years experience in developing and building various kinds of merchant ships, Jiangnan has successfully delivered to its customers in Europe, the US and Southeast Asia a large variety of highly sophisticated vessels, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, car carriers, crab ships, refrigerated ships, crude oil tankers, Panamax bulk carriers, Handymax bulk carriers, lake-suitable bulk carriers, multi-purpose cargo ships, fast-feeder container ships, and others. LNG carriers, in particular, have become one of the major products of the shipyard in the past years. The prices of these special ships with high-technology features are two to three times greater than those of a normal vessel of the same tonnage. Of the total value (US$17.9 billion) created by China Shipping Industry General Corp in 1995, that from Shanghai Shipping Industry Corp (SSI) accounted for 50%.

Apart from new ship construction, Jiangnan Shipyard has specific divisions specializing in manufacturing pressurized tanks for LNG carriers, large steel structures for civil engineering, a variety of mechanical and electrical equipment, non-standard equipment, pressure containers, and port machinery. The shipyard has been certified for the ISO 9001 quality standards by the relevant authorities within China.

(Asia Pulse/XIC)

[muawiyah]

The current state of the state in Big China is pretty much like what they've had almost all of their history.

And that's not good.

[Flavius]

ahm most us here were waiting for it ever since they have towed back russian carrier to reengineer

[LibWhacker]

Don't know how successful the first generation of Chinese carriers will be, but thanks to rats, the floodgates to our universities have been wide open for 30 years and we've trained two generations (thousands and thousands of people) of Chinese scientists and engineers how best to kill Americans.

Hey . . . I've got a great democrat idea! . . . let's train hundreds and hundreds of muslims in nuclear physics!!! Oh, never mind, we're already doing that.

[Non-Sequitur]

No wind, no planes.

You can say the same for U.S. carriers. Besides, in all my time at sea I can't remember a totally calm day.

[GBA]

Scary isn't it. When was the last time you bought something that wasn't "made in China"???

[Fitzcarraldo]

http://mil.jschina.com.cn/huitong/luhai_luhu_luda.htm

"...Since late 80s, we started to see the introduction of new generations of Chinese DDGs and FFGs, such as Luhu class DDG and Jiangwei class FFG, which have provided PLAN for the first time a much needed AAW and ASW capability with short-range SAMs and shipborne ASW helicopters. However, the debate of building aircraft carriers (CV) vs. building SSNs had lasted for more than a decade. The acquisition of the 56,000t Varyag in early 2002 (to be converted into a training ship?) did give Chinese valuable firsthand know-how of designing and building an aircraft carrier. It was rumored that China has decided to construct her first CV around 2010 (as Project 02?). The initial preparation at the Dalian Shipyard has begun..."

[Pukin Dog]

How impressed do you think Chinese folks will be watching their Carrier sink in its harbor?

[raybbr]

"Slave labor" at FR means labor costs lower than American wages, right?

Is there any bottom wage to you? Or, should there be competition to the point that people are basically working for nothing?

[Right Wing Assault]

The ramp on that thing must feel great at speed. Do we have anything like that?