Letters | Why China’s military claims of matching the US should be taken with a grain of salt

Translating the theoretical advantages of the electromagnetic aircraft launching system into reality has proven to be troublesome even for the US

Testing the system on land facilities is one thing, but installing and testing it on a floating, pitching deck is a different ball game

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China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning (centre) takes part in a PLA Navy drill in the western Pacific Ocean, in April 2018 Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:32am, 15 Feb 2019Updated: 1:31am, 15 Feb 2019

Your reports on the Chinese military can prove amusing to people in the know. There are only two types of catapult systems for launching aircraft off the deck of conventional take-off and landing aircraft carriers: the long-proven, tried and true steam-driven catapults, and the still experimental, yet to be fully operationalised electromagnetic aircraft launching system (EMALS). There is no such thing as “older diesel [catapult] systems” (“China ‘will build 4 nuclear aircraft carriers in drive to catch US Navy’”, February 6).

The assertion that EMALS will be installed on the PLA Navy’s conventionally powered 002 and subsequent “nuclear-powered” aircraft carriers ought to be taken with a grain of salt. Translating the many theoretical advantages of the EMALS over steam catapults into reality has proven to be protracted and troublesome for the US, even after thousands of tests, and many more hours of simulator evaluation at the test site at Lakehurst air force base in New Jersey. There are still more bugs to be overcome.

Although Rear Admiral Ma Weiming and his team claimed to have developed and perfected an EMALS that is superior to the American system on the Ford-class carrier, and have successfully tested the whole system on land, installing and operationalising the same on a floating, pitching deck can be a completely different animal.

The nuclear-powered USS Gerald Ford uses the world’s most advanced electromagnetic aircraft launching system. Photo: AFP

Also, it is not just a functional EMALS on deck which is needed, but many other complementary subsidiary systems and equipment, such as AWAC (airborne warning and control) and AEW (airborne electronic warfare) support planes, and successors to the much-maligned “Flying Shark” J-15 carrier-borne jet fighters.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Why China’s military claims of matching the US should be taken with a grain of salt

Letters | Why China’s military claims of matching the US should be taken with a grain of salt