... primarily based on building blue-water surface ships: the pace of building large destroyers and cruisers resembles the shipbuilding efficiency typical for the great maritime nations prior to World War II. Suffice to say that during the past decade, China’s PLA Navy has received, on top of other equipment, a total of 20 capital ships without aviation capability, including 19 destroyers and the first “large destroyer” of new type 055, which many experts classify as a missile cruiser, plus two aircraft carriers....
... with the estimate that 40 large airframes would be optimal for Project 1143.6. Any more aircraft per carrier would make flight deck manoeuvres and hangar operations difficult, thus affecting the number of sorties per day.
The Tasks Facing the Chinese Navy Carriers
So why is China spending hefty sums on building its own aircraft carrying fleet? Some of the reasons are quite common, while others are unique to that country.
First, China’s full-fledged ocean fleet operating beyond the range of its coastal aviation currently ...
... back up its lofty territorial claims and confirm its status as a means of projecting the country’s power to the world, the PLA Navy has initiated a large-scale programme to build an aircraft carrier fleet.
All That Money Can Buy
In developing its navy, China of course takes its cue from the global trendsetter and main potential enemy, namely the United States. However, it is basing its aircraft carrier programme primarily on Soviet developments. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that China,...
... will rather adapt the maritime services to the landscape changes over the past eight years. Also significant is the consolidation of main force construction avenues and the fleet structure requirements to withstand the Damocles' sword of sequestration.
China and Indo-Asia-Pacific remain the U.S. Navy's priority, which should remain as a long-term strategic factor. Russia has been also given some attention, but the Middle Eastern and Chinese headaches will effectively prevent any buildup in Europe in the mid term in the absence of hardly imaginable ...
... pursued consistently over the past 30-40 years by the government and top business groups in Korea. Currently, however, the Korean shipbuilding industry faces a range of challenges, both inside and outside the country. It must wage competitive battles with China and speed up the pace of technological change in order to maintain current levels of revenue.
How to Become a “Global Shipyard”
South Korea's record is particularly illustrative, since only forty years ago the country had no advanced ...
