Reference News Network reported on December 27 that Hong Kong media said that as the first domestically produced aircraft carrier built by China was about to be launched, PLA Major General Jin Yinan disclosed that the second domestically produced aircraft carrier had been launched as early as March last year. Construction started at Jiangnan Shipyard, and the aircraft carrier is also a steam catapult type. If the news is true, China has taken another key step toward the era of a large navy.
An article published on the website of Hong Kong's "Oriental Daily" on December 26 stated that as we all know, the first domestically produced aircraft carrier currently produced at the Dalian Shipyard is only a medium-sized aircraft carrier with a load capacity of 50,000 tons and a ski-jump take-off, which is basically correct. The "Liaoning" ship is an imitation and replica of the Soviet "Varyag" aircraft carrier, and there is no qualitative breakthrough. The second aircraft carrier produced by Jiangnan Shipyard was independently produced and designed by China, marking a historic breakthrough in China's military ship production technology.
"Ten years for the army, fifty years for the air force, and one hundred years for the navy" is a popular saying in the military circles. The general idea is that it takes ten years, fifty years and a hundred years to build a strong army, air force and navy respectively. One hundred years. The above time division is just an image metaphor. Its fundamental meaning is that the various services, especially the navy, most need the historical accumulation of culture, innovation, technology and war experience. They must carry out long and arduous construction, training, creation and practice, and cannot All at once.
The article stated that, in fact, 20 years ago, the Chinese Navy was still a coastal defense navy. The basic operational thinking was still focused on fighting powerful enemies from landing at sea, based on offshore operations, and using various Small and medium-sized ships, shore defense missiles and artillery, and shore-based aviation consume the enemy's power, put the enemy on land, and then combine with the army's counterattack to achieve defensive purposes. Therefore, once disputes and military needs arise in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, East China Sea and other slightly distant waters, the Chinese Navy will feel unable to do so.
The article stated that during the Taiwan Strait crisis that year, the United States sent two aircraft carrier formations to the East China Sea, which caused a strong psychological shock to Beijing. This aggressive posture of the US military has forced China to strive to develop area denial capabilities, and then build, import and imitate some relatively new destroyers, landing ships, amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers to break the US military's blockade on the first island chain.
In the past ten years, China’s new destroyers, Chinese Aegis ships, various types of supply ships, and conventional and nuclear-powered submarines have been launched like dumplings. On average, more than ten new warships are added every year. The overall Chinese Navy Its strength has surpassed that of neighboring countries and is second only to the US military in the world. It is only one step away from the era of the great navy.
The article stated that, however, one should also clearly realize that China’s current construction of various types of ships, including aircraft carriers, is compensation for decades or even hundreds of years of lack of naval tradition and weak national construction. Its technical level is far from advanced in the world, and its various constructions are far from achieving integrated communications. Especially in software construction such as talents, innovation, concepts, awareness, and culture, there is still a big gap with traditional naval countries.