Now it's official (not that it was needed) even for Beijing. The Chinese government, in an official statement signed by the Ministry of Defense, announced the construction of the second aircraft carrier. A formal clarification in reality, the works on the second Chinese aircraft carrier are in an advanced state of construction in the Dailian construction site.
The rumors on the new Chinese aircraft carrier emerged last February and subsequently confirmed in July by the internal documents of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Work in the dry dock should have started at the beginning of the year, after the launch of a large commercial cargo ship. The subsequent satellite images, taken at the 27 February and the 10 March, highlighted activities in the Dailian construction site and the laying of enormous support blocks in the dry dock used for mounting the keel. Subsequent analyzes confirmed the construction of a hull.
Last April it was estimated that the vector was long from 150 to 170 meters and wide around 30.
The images taken of the 22 last September have given greater awareness in the dimensions of the new boat. At that juncture the satellites also resumed a new section of stern and an elongated hull. Estimates brought the dimensions to 240 meters in length and 35 in width.
The only Chinese aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, entered service in the 2012. It is the second vector of the class Admiral Kuznetsov which dates back to the Soviet era. China bought the aircraft carrier from 60.000 tons from Ukraine in the 1998. Liaoning which, over the years, has been totally revised and modernized even though it is not yet considered fully operational (target within the 2020). In fact, we know that the Chinese are also building a third aircraft carrier in the Shanghai area.
Once operational, aircraft carriers could greatly expand Beijing's ability to defend the territory beyond its borders.
