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The Chinese navy has two aircraft carriers - the Liaoning and Shandong. The first ship was built from the refitted hull of an older Soviet vessel, and the other is a Chinese-built copy of the first, with some improvements.
"When the Type 003 eventually enters service, it will be a formidable addition to China's navy and allow it to more effectively project power," they wrote.
Building a larger, more modern carrier
Likely similar in size to the US Navy's Kitty Hawk-class carriers - a decommissioned class of steam-powered flattops that were roughly 1,070 feet long - the third carrier is expected to be the Chinese navy's largest surface warship, the CSIS experts assessed.
Additionally, the ship is expected to feature a smaller command center, or "island," and a much larger flight deck than its predecessors, freeing up space for a larger carrier air wing than the roughly 40 fixed-wing and rotary aircraft carried by the Liaoning and Shandong.
Though work on the flight deck is incomplete, there are indications that it will feature a more modern flat-top design, almost certainly with catapults, as opposed to the less efficient ski jumps seen on the other two carriers.
Steam catapults or the newer electromagnetic aircraft launch system would likely solve that problem, and they would also allow the carrier to launch larger aircraft like early warning planes able to boost situational awareness.
China's third carrier is expected to be conventionally-powered. There has, however, been speculation that follow-on carriers could be nuclear-powered, like the US Navy's current fleet of Nimitz- and Ford-class carriers.
The CSIS report said that progress on the carrier is moving at the same pace as the construction of the Shandong, suggesting that the new ship may not be launched until next year. It could then be several more years before China gets it fitted out, through sea trials, and commissioned into service.
"It is not a US carrier, as things are today," Funaiole recently told Insider, speaking of China's third aircraft carrier, "but it's still a huge step for China. It's impressive what they have been able to do in a short amount of time."
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