New Delhi: Technical issues hampering construction may be responsible for the delay in the launch of China’s third aircraft carrier — the Type 003 — according to a media report.
The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported late Friday that the Type 003 was originally expected to launch on the occasion of the Dragon Boat Festival — celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month every year — on 3 June. China’s Maritime Safety Administration had issued a notice last week for the launch of “five commercial vessels” to create extra space in the shipyard in Shanghai where the aircraft carrier was being constructed.
The Post added that due to “operational needs”, the administration notified Thursday
that “deep excavation activities” conducted by Jiangnan, the state-run shipbuilding company that is making the Type 003 — were put off until 30 June.
The Post has cited anonymous sources “close to the Chinese military” who highlighted the possibility of “technical problems related to the next phase” of the construction of the Type 003 but satellite imagery from US-based think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) showed preparations for the Type 003’s launch days before it was put off.
“Satellite imagery from May 31 shows that the dry dock where the much-anticipated warship is currently positioned has been cleared of other shipbuilding projects, leaving an open path for the flattop carrier to enter the Yangtze River,” CSIS reported Thursday.
According to CSIS, the satellite imagery also revealed the extent of the “pre-launch steps” that are yet to be taken.
“The staircases that workers use to access the carrier—as well as the support structures and other equipment that skirt the ship—will need to be removed. The caisson, which segments the dry dock and allows work to proceed simultaneously on multiple vessels, will also be opened to allow water to fill the entire dry dock,” CSIS added.
CSIS and experts cited by the Post have said that although it could take up to a decade after its launch for China’s third aircraft carrier to be fully operational, the Type 003 is a significant step for Chinese defence technological development. It will be the country’s first aircraft carrier to make use of a Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) launch system, which thus far has only been undertaken by three aircraft carriers in the world — USA’s Nimitz and Gerald R. Ford, and France’s Charles de Gaulle.
The CATOBAR is a catapult-based aircraft launch system that allows carriers greater takeoff rate and velocity.
The South China Morning Post had claimed in 2017 that while the existing three carriers’ CATOBAR systems are steam powered, China’s Type 003 is said to be the world’s first carrier with an integrated propulsion system (IPS) — a system that uses turbines and generators to help power motors to turn a ship’s propeller or impeller — which allows enough power for an electromagnetic powered catapult.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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