We compare the newly launched Chinese supercarrier, the Fujian, with the latest nuclear carrier of the US Navy, the Ford. We examine the ships' electromagnetic catapults, naval aviation facilities, propulsion, and radar systems.

我们将新推出中国超级航母福建号与美国海军最新的核航母福特号的比较,我们比较了双方的电磁弹射器、海军航空设施、推进设施和雷达系统。

Aircraft carriers are a strategic priority for the world’s leading navies. Experienced players such as the Royal Navy, French Navy (Marine Nationale) and Indian Navy are all in the process of bringing in new carriers. And Japan, South Korea and likely other countries are all taking steps to join the club. But nowhere is the capability gathering steam as much as in China. The Chinese Navy (PLAN) has already commissioned two carriers based on the Russian Admiral Kutzenov class. But their third carrier, known as Type-003, promises to take the PLAN to the next level.

航空母舰是世界主要海军的一个战略重点。英国皇家海军、法国海军和印度海军等经验丰富的国家都在引进新航母。日本、韩国和可能的其他国家都在采取步骤加入这个俱乐部。但是,没有任何地方像中国一样正在聚集这种能力。中国海军(PLAN)已经启用了两艘基于俄罗斯“库兹涅佐夫号”海军上将级的航母。但他们的第三艘航母,即003型,有望将解放军海军提升到一个新的水平。

Meanwhile the U.S. Navy, for decades the world leader in this technology, is also modernizing with a new class of super carrier. The first Ford Class ship, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was commissioned in 2017. While it has suffered some teething problems it remains the largest and most modern carrier afloat.

与此同时,美国海军几十年来在这一技术方面的世界领导者,它们也在用新级别的超级航母对其海军进行现代化。美国的第一艘福特级航母杰拉尔德-R-福特号(CVN-78)于2017年服役,虽然它遭受了一些磨合问题,但它仍然是目前最大和最现代化的航母。
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The Type-003 is very close in size to the U.S. Navy’s carriers. And although the definition is vague, it seems fair to also describe it as a “super carrier”.
Fresh commercial satellite imagery from Kompsat, via Shadowbreak Inti., allows us to finally measure the size and layout of the Type-003. This permits a general high-level comparison to the Ford Class.

003型航母在尺寸上与美国海军的航母非常接近。虽然定义是模糊的,但将其描述为 "超级航母 "似乎也是公平的。
通过Shadowbreak Inti.从Kompsat获得的最新商业卫星图像,使我们能够最终测量003型的尺寸和布局,这使得我们能够与福特级进行总体的高级别比较。

The imagery shows that it is approximately 320 meters (1,050 feet) long. This is about 13 meters (43 feet) shorter than the Ford Class. And it seems less than it sounds if you placed the two ships side by side.

图像显示,它大约有320米(1,050英尺)长,这比福特级短了约13米(43英尺)。而且,如果你把这两艘船并排放在一起,它似乎比声称的要小。

The Chinese ship does have a narrower flight deck however, It’s width of about 73 meters (240 feet) is very similar to preceding Type-001 and Type-002 carriers. There may be logistical reasons for this, such as dry dock sizes. Or it may simply be that the Chinese planners were happy with the width of the current carriers.

然而,中国的航母确实有一个更窄的飞行甲板,它的宽度约为73米(240英尺),与之前的001型和002型航母非常相似。这可能有后勤方面的原因,例如干船坞的大小,也可能只是因为中国的规划者对目前航母的宽度感到满意。
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Going Electromagnetic
The major step change over the current carriers however is in how aircraft will be launched. The new ship is CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) while the first two are STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery). Like the Ford Class, the Type-003 is believed to use an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) instead of a steam catapult. This should promise a faster launch rate. This is a cutting edge technology which has reportedly been less reliable so far on the Ford Class, although things are improving. Yet despite its challenges it is still seen as the way forward and we should not assume that the Chinese will have the same problems. For China it is pragmatic to go straight to EMALS and miss the steam catapult step.

走向电磁化
然而,与目前的航母相比,其主要的变化是飞机的弹射方式。新舰是电磁弹射起飞,而前两艘是滑跃起飞。与福特级一样,003型航母被认为使用的是电磁弹射系统而不是蒸汽弹射器,这应该能保证更快的弹射速度。这是一项尖端技术,尽管情况正在改善,但据说迄今为止在 "福特 "级上还不太可靠。然而,尽管存在挑战,但它仍然被视为前进的方向,我们不应该假设中国人也会有同样的问题。对中国来说,直接使用电磁弹射而略过蒸汽弹射器这一步是很务实的。

The Type-003 has three catapults with two on the bow and one in a waist position. This is one fewer than the Ford Class which, like earlier American carriers with steam catapults, also has four.

003型有三个弹射器,两个在船头,一个在腰部位置。这比 "福特 "级少了一个,"福特 "级和美国早期的蒸汽弹射器航母一样,都是四部弹射器。
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Catapults, which are lacking on the current Chinese carriers, will allow new aircraft types to be carried. A new fixed-wing airborne early warning & control aircraft (AEW&C), the KJ-600, is expected to be aboard. This is, both in role and overall form, very similar to the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Other new aircraft are expected to include a carrier version of the FC-31 stealth fighter. A full-size mock-up of this has recently appeared at a test site in Wuhan. This will be generally equivalent of the Ford Classes’ F-35C Lightning-II. It has twin engines however, and possibly a larger internal weapons bay.
It is likely that this new plane will take some time to enter service so the Type-003 may start operations with a catapult capable version of the J-15 Flanker.

目前中国的航母上装备了弹射器,这将允许携带新的飞机类型。一种新的固定翼空中预警和控制飞机(AEW&C),KJ-600,预计将被搭载。这款飞机在作用和整体形式上都与E-2D高级鹰眼非常相似。其他新飞机预计将包括FC-31隐形战斗机的航母版本。最近在武汉的一个试验场出现了一个全尺寸的模拟模型,这将大致相当于福特级上搭载的F-35C闪电-II。然而,它有双引擎,并可能有一个更大的内部武器弹舱。
这款新飞机很可能需要一些时间才能投入使用,因此003型可能会以具有弹射能力的J-15侧卫版本开始运作。

Fewer Aircraft Elevators
The Ford Class has three aircraft elevators (lifts), one less than the preceding Nimitz Class. Despite this the combination of these and the ELAMS should provide a greater sortie rate than the Nimitz Class. The Chinese ship however has only two. These are both rectangular and on the starboard side of the flight deck. Possibly because of the larger island sits between them (unlike on the Ford Class where it is at the stern), the forward lift is very close to the catapults. The blast deflector is right next to it, not forward of it. This may limit its use while aircraft are taking off.

较少的飞机升降机
福特级有三个飞机升降机,比之前的尼米兹级少一个。尽管如此,这些升降机和电磁弹射的组合应该能提供比尼米兹级提供更大的出勤率。然而,中国的这艘船上只有两个,它们都是矩形的,位于飞行甲板的右舷。这可能是由于较大的岛屿位于它们之间(与福特级不同,它在船尾),导致前部的升降机离弹射器很近,而导流板就在它的旁边而不是它的前面,这可能会限制它在飞机起飞时的使用。
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However, on paper the Chinese carrier should have a larger usable deck area thanks to fewer lifts. This may not be seen as a wise trade-off as it will take the Chinese longer to move aircraft up from the hangar. Actually the answer may lie in the Soviet legacy. The Type-003 appears to have inherited its twin lift arrangement directly from the Russian Admiral Kutzenov class.

然而,从纸面上看,由于较少的升降机,中国的航母应该有一个更大的可用甲板面积。这可能不被看作是一个明智的权衡,因为中国人需要花更多的时间将飞机从机库中移到甲板上去。事实上,答案可能在于苏联的遗产。003型似乎直接继承了俄罗斯“库兹涅佐夫号”海军上将级的双升降机配置。

The island of the Type-003 has only just been placed on the deck in the past few days. It appears shorter than the earlier Chinese carriers but retains their single-level control tower. Above it however will be large phased array radars. This is like the Ford Class.

003型的舰岛在过去几天里才刚刚被放在甲板上,它看起来比早期的中国航母要小但保留了单层控制塔。然而在它上面配备的将是大型相控阵雷达,就像福特级一样。

To summarize, the Type-003 is slightly smaller in overall dimensions. It has fewer catapults and fewer aircraft elevators, which may reduce sortie rates. In general the American ship is a bold evolutionary leap based on decades of operational experience. The Chinese ship on the other hand is a much more conservative step forward from the less experienced carrier operator. There’s no denying that in overall terms the Type-003 is going to be a very large carrier which should be extremely potent. But it may be held back slightly by some design choices which are routed in Soviet thinking.

总而言之,003型航母在整体尺寸上略小,它有较少的弹射器和较少的升降机,这可能会降低航母的出勤率。总的来说,美国的航母是在几十年的作战经验基础上的一次大胆进化的飞跃。而另一方面,中国的航母是一个来自经验不足的航母运营商的更保守的设计。不可否认的是,就整体而言,003型将是一艘非常大的航母,应该是非常强大的。但它可能会被一些设计上的选择所束缚,而这些选择是以苏联人的思维为基础的。

There are of course many details which we still cannot know about the Type-003. Or the Fords Class in some cases. But ultimately their combat effectiveness, if it ever comes to that, will partly be in the crew and doctrine. The PLAN lacks the vast experience of the U.S. Navy, but it is all the same rapidly gaining experience. it has been operating carriers for nearly 10 years and is clearly heavily invested in making them a success.

当然,关于003型的许多细节我们仍然不了解,福特级也一样。在某些情况下,他们最终的战斗力将部分取决于船员和作战理念。虽然解放军缺乏美国海军的丰富经验,但他们同样在迅速获得经验,因为他们已经运营航母近10年了,而且显然在使他们获得成功方面投入了大量的资金。