PLA’s Carrier Ambitions Take Flight: Dual Carrier Exercises Set Sights on US Naval Supremacy

The Chinese Navy’s aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong recently conducted the first dual-carrier training exercise in the South China Sea. According to the analysis of the interviewed scholars, only in terms of the number and use of embarked aircraft, China’s double-carrier formation initially developed the ability to compete with the United States’ single-carrier formation in the open sea.

According to a report from Xinhua News Agency on Thursday (Oct. 31), the Liaoning fleet successfully completed its annual practical training on the high seas, during which it conducted the first dual-carrier training exercise with the Liaoning fleet. Shandong in the South China Sea.

Although the report did not reveal the specific time of the exercise, the Liaoning ship was photographed docking with the Shandong ship in the Sanya naval port in Hainan in the middle of last month, and then appeared in the military exercise “United Sword -2024B” around Taiwan on October 14. She then returned north through the Taiwan Strait on the night of 22 October. The dual carrier exercise is believed to have taken place between the two above-mentioned time points.

According to the official video, the twin-carrier formation includes a total of 13 surface ships, in addition to the two aircraft carriers, it also includes three 10,000-ton Type 055 destroyers, five Type 052D destroyers, one Type 054A frigate and two Type. 901 ships integrated. The total tonnage of the supply ship fleet is about 300,000 tons, and the number of vertical missile launchers of various calibers is almost 700.

In the air, 12 carrier-borne J-15 heavy aircraft flew over the carrier formation twice in different formations. Nine of them were improved J-15s with no speed control and new nose paint. At the same time as the embarked aircraft flew over, there were two J-15s parked on the deck of the Liaoning ship, and 18 J-15s and their improved versions on the Shandong ship, a total of 32 J-15-15s were present at the same time.

This is the first official appearance of the improved J-15. According to a report by the American defense website “The WarZone”, the performance of the improved J-15 has been significantly improved. Not only has the body been strengthened to be able to eject and take off, but it is also equipped with a new active phased array radar and a more modern cockpit.

Lin Yingyou, assistant professor at the Institute of International Affairs and Strategy of Tamkang University in Taiwan, analyzed in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao that the shortage in the number of embarked aircraft is the main reason why the People’s Liberation Army builds a double plane -carrier formation. The Liaoning ship can carry 24 J-15s, and the Shandong ship has slightly more. A Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the U.S. Army can carry approximately 60 F/A-18 carrier-borne aircraft, and the ejection device. takeoff efficiency is higher than that of the People’s Liberation Army aircraft carrier.

Cao Weidong, an expert from the Mainland China Navy, pointed out in an interview that the ship-air coordination of a double aircraft carrier formation is more complex than that of a single aircraft carrier, which shows that the ability of the People’s Liberation Army of using and controlling aircraft carriers has additional advantages. improved. If the respective carrier-based aircraft dispatch combinations of the two aircraft carriers can be flexibly adjusted, the combat effect of one plus one will be greater than two.

Cao Weidong believes that, taking the take-off of 12 fighter aircraft as an example, two aircraft carriers require much less time than one aircraft carrier, and can attack faster and more powerfully when an aircraft carrier is unable to take off and land due to refueling, of battle damage, etc., the other carrier will still be able to launch or recover fighters.

Lin Yingyou also pointed out that in the photos released by the People’s Liberation Army, the aircraft carrier is positioned in front of the escort ship, instead of placing the aircraft carrier in the center of the escort formation as in the US military. This may indicate that the People’s Liberation Army still has to think about whether in the future the Type 055 destroyer will be the core of the formation, or whether it will be like the US Army with the aircraft carrier as the core, and other warships mainly provide escort.

However, Cao Weidong believes that the official photos are not a standard combination of double aircraft carrier formations. The number of Type 055s in the future lineup will depend on the different types of missions and risks faced. He emphasized that in addition to visible surface ships, the formation must also be escorted by underwater nuclear submarines.