The Chinese model of the aircraft carrier Liaoning put on the national market it is selling like hot cakes. The Chao Bao kit has jumped into the head of sales among the models to be built. The description reads: “The USS (?) Liaoning is the first aircraft carrier in China. It was developed by the Varyag aircraft carrier, but its on-board systems and weapons were designed and built in China. Liaoning is currently the main Chinese naval aviation school ship ".
Beyond the quality and the details introduced by the Chinese Lego, the new model confirms the importance of the carriers, considered symbols of power and, until today, synonymous with the hegemony of the United States in the globe. In fact, when US carriers patrol the South China Sea they win the front page of the Chinese media.
Il giocattolo - as noted by National Interest - reminds us of the symbolic value of the aircraft carrier and the role of Liaoning in China's future strategy.
La Liaoning (photo), the country's first aircraft carrier, was designed to test the reliability and compatibility of indigenous systems and staff training. It is a sort of technological demonstrator.
The second carrier, under construction at the Dailian shipyard, will in effect be a battle platform that will contribute to the defense of national interests. It will have a displacement of 50.000 tons (ten thousand less than the Liaoning) and a conventional feeding system. It will be equipped mainly with fighters Shenyang J-15 (based largely on Sukhoi Su-33) and will have the same STOBAR bridge (Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery) of the class Admiral Kuznetsov. The main systems (propulsion, electronics and armament) will be implemented in China.
The Chinese are also building a third aircraft carrier in the Shanghai area: it could be equipped with nuclear propulsion. The third carrier has not yet been formalized by Beijing, although satellite photos have confirmed the start of the works (the second carrier was recognized only exactly one year after the construction site was opened). The same Chinese analysts justify the need of a third aircraft carrier to guarantee long-range armed patrols and for humanitarian missions.
We know that since the 2013, the China Shipbuilding Industry have started studies for nuclear propulsion on carriers. A technology used since the 70 years by the Chinese on class submarines He. Nuclear propulsion effectively eliminates the need for refueling and extends the range of the carrier, limited only by the on-board supplies for the embarked personnel.
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. It has been totally revised and modernized even though it is not yet considered fully operational (target within the 2020). The autonomy of Liaoning is estimated in 45 days of navigation, equal to seven thousand kilometers at the maximum speed allowed, around 32 knots.
