Roses in bloom: How far is China from the aircraft carrier era?

>Rose flowers bloom: How far is China from the aircraft carrier era? How far is China from the aircraft carrier era? China's first aircraft carrier platform was launched on August 8 after nearly a month of rest...

Roses in bloom: How far is China from the aircraft carrier era? How far is China from the aircraft carrier era? After nearly a month of rest, China's first aircraft carrier platform, surrounded by tugboats, bid farewell to the tugboats at 16:15 in the afternoon on August 27, sailed out of the dock in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, and headed for the sea to begin its tenth sea trial. This sea trial of the aircraft carrier platform will welcome the baptism of Typhoon "Bulavan". Xu Hongmeng, deputy commander of the Navy, said that during the nine sea trials in the past year, various technical operations of the aircraft carrier platform were very smooth and all achieved the expected results. Every time a sea trial is completed, China takes another step towards the aircraft carrier era. Rear Admiral Zheng Ming, former minister of the Navy, pointed out that aircraft carriers are a powerful guarantee for safeguarding national maritime rights and interests, protecting maritime transportation safety, and curbing surrounding areas from encroaching on our island territory. Currently, nine countries around the world have 20 aircraft carriers in active service, of which the United States accounts for 11. Some countries are still developing new aircraft carriers, and some already have quasi-aircraft carriers. China is just about to have its first medium-sized aircraft carrier. Rear Admiral Zheng Ming said that we will neither challenge nor have the conditions to challenge the US aircraft carrier; there is no need to engage in an aircraft carrier race with India, which is also an ancient civilization; we will continue to learn and exchange with countries that have helped our country develop its navy, such as Russia and Ukraine, although this help comes with conditions and costs. It can be seen that China's aircraft carrier will not pose a threat to neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific. Its emergence and improvement are normal events in the development of the world, a move that is expected by the public and the general trend. According to current public information, the postwar development of U.S. aircraft carriers began with the Forrest-class large aircraft carriers. The earliest construction of the "Forrest" was started in 1952. Two and a half years later, at the end of 1954, it went on trial and less than a year later, it entered service in October 1955. In 1956, the United States began construction of the "Kitty Hawk" aircraft carrier, which lasted three and a half years. It took one year from launch to commissioning. The construction speed of the subsequent "Kitty Hawk-class" aircraft carriers gradually slowed down until it dropped to two and a half years. It usually only takes more than a year from trial to commissioning. However, the construction of the "Nimitz", the first-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with the largest tonnage in the world, took a total of three years from trial to commissioning. The nine subsequent aircraft carriers built, except for the "Abraham Ken", which took one year and nine months, all took two to three years. However, there are extreme examples. Spain's first aircraft carrier, the "Prince of Asturias", was launched on May 22, 1982, and was entered into naval service six years later on May 30, 1988. The process took so long because the command and control system needed to be continuously improved and a command bridge added to meet the needs of the command ship. However, my country's first aircraft carrier is no larger than the Nimitz-class large nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and its full-load displacement is more than 10,000 tons less than the Leicester. Judging from the number of carrier-based aircraft, the "Nimitz" is equipped with 86 carrier-based aircraft, cruise missiles that can attack aircraft and intercept enemy enemies, two nuclear reactors, eight 8,000-kilowatt turbine generators, SPS-48E three-dimensional air search radar and other advanced equipment. However, my country's first aircraft carrier is only a medium-sized conventionally powered aircraft carrier, not a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and its technical difficulty should be less than that of the Nimitz class. China has always longed for the era of aircraft carriers and urgently needs to enter the era of aircraft carriers. Aircraft carriers are a powerful guarantee for safeguarding national maritime rights and interests, protecting maritime transportation safety, and curbing surrounding encroachment on our island territory. Especially in today's strategic landscape of turbulent surrounding waters and multi-polar development of the world, China's aircraft carrier fleet must step forward and sail into the deep sea to safeguard national sovereignty and carry out peaceful missions. Before this, many Western countries had already been comfortable in the aircraft carrier era. Although China's first aircraft carrier platform sea trials have become routine, China's aircraft carrier road has shown a glimmer of hope, but there is still a long way to go. The world's political and economic order must not be sustained by war and the Cold War. The pattern of one country dominating the world will gradually change with multipolarity and diversification in the Asia-Pacific and other regions. China's first atomic bomb and subsequent "one-satellite bomb" once affected the overall pattern of world strategy. However, China's first aircraft carrier has been belittled as a "paper tiger" by unfavorable media and people in some countries. Whether China's first aircraft carrier can exert a certain influence on the world's strategic pattern like "two bombs and one satellite" will only take time to verify. Although my country's aircraft carrier platform has become a regular sea trial, China's aircraft carrier road has shown a glimmer of hope, but the aircraft carrier from the first sea trial to formal service and then to the formation of combat effectiveness is a very long process. Colonel Li Jie, an expert on aircraft carrier research, once said that it generally takes three years for an aircraft carrier to go from trial to service, and another five years to form combat effectiveness. It can be seen that China still has a long and protracted process before it reaches the aircraft carrier era. It is not optimistic and there is still a long way to go.