China some time away from aircraft carrier capability

The Hindu ^ | 02/13/2010 | The Hindu

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Downplaying the threat from the China PLA Navy with periodic reports of its move to acquire an aircraft carrier, the former Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral (retd.) Arun Prakash said on Thursday it was not going to happen soon.

“The PLA Navy is some years away from attaining [aircraft] carrier capability,” he said at the conclusion of a two-day seminar at the annual maritime power conference 2010, organised by the National Maritime Foundation.

Referring to China focussing on expansion of its Navy for the last two decades, possibly to address areas of maritime concern including Taiwan and its extended trade and energy sea lanes running across the Indian Ocean, he said the lack of an integral aviation capability is considered by the Chinese leadership to be a major handicap.

In its quest for an aircraft carrier during the last three decades China purchased hulls of three de-commissioned ships which led to periodic reports that a new or refurbished carrier unveiling was imminent.

“However, acquiring or even building a carrier is not China’s real problem; their dilemma is the type of aircraft that is going to be operated from the ship,” he said. In the current scenario China was unlikely to have access to a steam catapult to launch an aircraft from the deck and its option is confined to two Russian aircraft that use short take-off and arrested recovery, he added.

So, either Russia will have to give sufficient numbers of either MiG29 K [which India has procured for its aircraft carrier] or Su-33 fighter to equip its carriers or China design carrier aircraft in a hurry

[Francis McClobber]

I believe the Japanese only had one or two prototypes flying in the July 1945 timeframe. They ordered 200 jets and no telling when they would have been combat ready. With the invasion set for March 1946, I doubt they would have been very effective at all against the invasion force.

[Yo-Yo]

You said "[t]o date only the US and Japan have managed..."

What carrier is Japan operating today? A single helicopter carrier displacing 18,000 tons.

Therefore, to include Japan in your list, you included all past carriers. When you include all past carriers, your argument falls apart.

The UK has in the past have operated large steam-catapult equipped carriers equipped for jet aircraft operations If you bothered to visit the link I provided, you'd see that the British carroer HMS Ark Royal displaced 54,000 tons, more than any Japanese carrier. In fact, as I'm sure you are aware, the steam catapult, the angled flight deck, and the optical landing system were all British innovations.

For all of their problems, the French are today operating a nuclear powered, steam catapult equipped carrier displacing 42,000 tons.

Both the British and the French have built larger carriers than the Japanese, deflating your argument.

[Republic of Texas]

Exactly. It ain’t just the Carrier, it’s the fleet that goes with it.