Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Extraordinary Claim: China to Accept First Homegrown Aircraft Carrier in 2017

The first homegrown Chinese aircraft carrier is under construction at Dalian and will enter service by 2017, according to the June 2014 issue of Shipborne Weapons , a Chinese-language magazine detailing various naval weapon developments.

In an article titled 'Prospects for Chinese Carrier Strike Groups', the magazine claims it has official data regarding the follow-on vessels to the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN's) first carrier, Liaoning (CV16). Dr Martin Andrew, a specialist in Chinese military affairs, translated the article for his GI Zhou Newsletter and told IHS Jane's he thought it was a credible source.

The article claims that China plans to field three additional aircraft carriers by 2019.

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