Source tweet: @detresfa_ d-atis
IMINT shows progress on Chinese CV-003 carrier
Ten years ago, China didn’t have any aircraft carriers in service. Now it’s building its 3rd at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai. This is part of a massive modernization and expansion of naval capabilities.
China's navy, the PLAN (People's Liberation Army Navy), has always been large. But for many years it was far behind Russia and the West in terms of both quality and core capabilities. That is changing due to a massive construction program. Large destroyers, frigates and amphibious ships have been multiplying at an incredible rate. And the new Chinese carriers are getting bigger and more potent with each ship. The first two were smaller than U.S. carriers at around 67,500 tons, and feature a raised ‘ski-jump’ bow to launch their fighter jets. This new ship is expected to be much larger, and might replace the ski-jump with an electromagnetic catapult.
OSINT analyst 'd-atis', one of the people involved in demonstrating the tracking of an aircraft carrier at sea via commercial satellites, has shared this image analysis of China's 3rd aircraft carrier.
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Work has continued throughout COVID-19 at the Jiangnan shipyard. It is possible that there was some disruption, but work is certainly not halted.
The new basin has been dredged and work on the new quay has been largely finished. The tall cranes, which are possibly for the fitting out process, are now in place on rails.
The main hull sections of the carrier have been aligned and may be joined soon.
Launch is likely to still be months away (unsurprisingly), but progress is clear, not just the ship itself, but in infrastructure preparations.
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