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Minnie Chan

The first Chinese-built aircraft carrier is entering the home straight to combat readiness with the start of a final sea trial that could last up to a year, according to observers.
Just three months after its maiden voyage, the 65,000-tonne Type 001A vessel left a shipyard in Dalian in the northeastern province of Liaoning on Sunday towed by several tugboats, according to photographs and footage posted online by the Chinese military.
The aircraft carrier headed out to the Yellow Sea two days after a Type 055 guided-missile destroyer, the region’s most advanced and biggest destroyer, and the carrier’s likely escort, also started its maiden sea trial.
Five facts about China’s Type 055 destroyer, guardian of the new aircraft carrier
Military analysts said that the carrier’s second sea trial could take between six and 12 months but that the ship could be ready to be handed over to the Chinese navy by October 1 next year for the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the people’s republic.
﻿Watch: The Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier


The vessel made its maiden voyage over five days from May 13, a trip that sources told the South China Morning Post involved a test to ensure there were no leaks below the waterline.
“This time the focus will be on testing the endurance of the new aircraft carrier’s propulsion system. The communications, command, damage control, lift operations and weapon systems will also be examinated,” Hong Kong-based military expert Song Zhongping said.
Song said the giant vessel would be handed over to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy soon after it completed the second trial.
“If everything runs smoothly this time, it’s very likely the Type 001A will formally join the PLA Navy before next year’s National Day,” he said.
China’s first home-grown aircraft carrier finishes maiden sea trial
Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said the second trial might include some simulated and experimental take-off and landing operations for helicopters or even the J-15 carrier-based fighter jet.
“One of the key missions for the Type 001A’s second sea trial is to test the aircraft platform’s readiness to launch and reclaim carrier-based aircraft, so the J-15s might practise touch-and-go take-offs and missed-approach flights on the deck,” Li said.
“Unlike the Liaoning, which is a training platform, the Type 001A carrier was designed to be a real combat ship. The pilots and crew on board need to test all the equipment, include the refuelling and electronic charging systems.”

Li said China had amassed a great deal of experience over the past six years from sea trials and drills on the Liaoning, a Soviet Kuznetsov-class vessel bought from Ukraine in 1998 and retrofitted to become China’s first aircraft carrier.
China plans to create at least four carrier groups to fulfil the navy’s global blue-water ambitions and defend the country’s expanding overseas national interests. It has so far launched four 12,000-tonne Type 055 destroyers designed to guard the Type 001A and other future aircraft carriers.
Photos posted online showed one of the Type 055 destroyers starting its maiden trial near waters off its shipyard in Shanghai on Friday, indicating that it was on the way to teaming up with the Type 001A to form China’s first real carrier battle group.
How China could move closer to nuclear-powered aircraft carriers – with Russia’s help
The destroyer is equipped with air­ defence, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, and was built in parallel with the Type 001A and China’s next-generation carrier with advanced electromagnetic aircraft launch system, according to Li and Song.
“The Type 055 destroyer can incorporate a full electric propulsion system, meaning it could become a platform for the country’s first rail gun once it is ready,” Song said, adding that China had plans to build more of the destroyers.
“The breadth of China’s strategic security will expand from land to sea when the Type 055 joins the carrier battle group.”
The Liaoning has been docked in Dalian since May for major repairs, after six years in service as the country’s first carrier training platform.


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Liaoning aircraft carrier

Type 001A: China’s first home-grown aircraft carrier on final sea run to combat readiness

China’s Type 001A leaves its dock in Dalian under tow on Sunday. Photo: Dfic.cn

Type 055 destroyer, which started its maiden trial. Photo: Handout

China’s first home-grown aircraft carrier finishes maiden sea trial amid speculation Asia’s most advanced destroyer will be next

The Type 001 aircraft carrier returns to port in Dalian. Photo: Reuters

This image released by the US Navy on August 28 12, 2017, shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65), front, Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) RSS Supreme (FFS 73), L, and RSS Endurance (LST 207), R, participating in a PHOTOEX during Exercise Pacific Griffin 2017, off the coast of Guam, August 28, 2017. The US Navy destroyer USS Benfold was involved in a minor collision with a Japanese tugboat on November 18, 2017 during a scheduled exercise, according to the US Navy's 7th Fleet. / AFP PHOTO / US NAVY / Benjamin A. Lewis / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / US NAVY /Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Benjamin A. Lewis" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Three catapult launchers spotted in image of China's new aircraft carrier

According to this illustration, China’s latest aircraft carrier will have a catapult launch system. Photo: Wechat

China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation chairman Hu Wenming visited the company's 701 Research Institute in Wuhan, Hubei province on June 19, according to CSIC's official WeChat post that revealed the suspected design of China's 3rd aircraft carrier in background. Photo: Wechat

Man behind China’s new aircraft carrier detained in corruption investigation

China’s first domestically developed aircraft carrier is seen at a port in Dalian, Liaoning province, after completing its first sea trials in May. Photo: Reuters

Sun Bo, the General Manager of China's top shipbuilding firms, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation(CSIC).  SCMP Pictures (UNDATED HANDOUT)

(180615) -- BEIJING, June 15, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a submarine during an inspection to the navy under the Northern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, June 11, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Gang) (zwx)

How China could move closer to nuclear-powered aircraft carriers – with Russia’s help

Xue Long 1, a Ukraine-made icebreaker bought in 1994. Photo: Handout

(180117) -- ABOARD XUELONG, Jan. 17, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Members of China's 34th Antarctic expedition pose for group photos on the deck of China's research icebreaker Xuelong on Jan. 15, 2018. Large engineering equipments on Tuesday were transfered from Xuelong to the Inexpressible Island, where China's 5th research station will begin construction near the Ross Sea in the Antarctic. The new base is expected to set up within five years, and will provide year-round support for researchers conducting tasks such as observations of land, ocean, atmosphere, ice shelf and biology, establishment of an observation and monitoring network in the Antarctic, and survey of marine environmental protection. (Xinhua/Bai Guolong) (wf)

China's new Aircraft Carrier Type 003 concept. SCMP Pictures (UNDATED HANDOUT)

A helicopter from the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition.

Five things to know about China’s home-built Type 055 destroyer, guardian of the next-generation aircraft carrier

China has launched four Type 055 guided-missile destroyers in the past 13 months and is building four more. Photo: Xinhua

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** Artist impression of Chinese Type-055 DDG, the latest Chinese destroyer with vertical missiles launcher. SCMP Pictures (UNDATED HANDOUT)

South Korean naval destroyers Sejong the Great and Yang Manchun, the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer, USS Michael Murphy and USS Stethem, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson transit the western Pacific Ocean May 3, 2017. U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean M. Castellano/Handout via REUTERS FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNSTHIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

China launches two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers, widely considered Asia's biggest such combat vessels, at a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province, in July, 2018. SCMP Pictures (UNDATED HANDOUT)

The guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) transits Naval Station Mayport Harbor on its way into port in Jacksonville, Florida on October 25, 2016. Crewed by 147 Sailors, Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation destroyers designed to strengthen naval power by performing critical missions and enhancing US deterrence, power projection and sea control objectives. / AFP PHOTO / US NAVY / PO2 Timothy SCHUMAKER

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Vessel could complete test to go into service in time for the 70th anniversary of the people’s republic, experts say


Type 001A: China’s first home-grown aircraft carrier on final sea run to combat readiness

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Vessel could complete test to go into service in time for the 70th anniversary of the people’s republic, experts say

Vessel could complete test to go into service in time for the 70th anniversary of the people’s republic, experts say