While it has yet to be officially confirmed whether it will be nuclear-powered or not, the release of new satellite imagery shows that China continues to move forward with the construction of its fourth aircraft carrier for the People’s Liberation Army Navy, currently known as Type 004 and expected to become the largest carrier in service with the force. According to the description accompanying the images, the work is being carried out at the Dalian shipyards, where it can also be observed that a large portion of the keel has already been laid.
So far, the design and construction of the ship remain highly classified, although initial estimates reported by Western analysts point to an aircraft carrier with a displacement of between 100,000 and 120,000 tons. This would place it nearly on par with the U.S. Navy’s Gerald R. Ford class and above the Fujian, the newest aircraft carrier currently in service with the Chinese Navy. It is also expected that the design will incorporate lessons learned from the latter, facilitating the integration of electromagnetic catapult systems on the flight deck and definitively leaving behind the ski-jump configuration used on the Liaoning and Shandong carriers.
This point is particularly relevant, as the ship is expected to operate a sizeable carrier air wing. Its main assets would include the J-15T fighters (developed from the Russian Flanker) and the J-15D variant optimized for electronic warfare, as well as the more modern and stealthy J-35 fighters developed by China. Moreover, the carrier is expected to be capable of operating the new KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft, thereby providing a broad range of operational capabilities.
Returning to the issue of nuclear propulsion, it should be noted that this possibility has been discussed for months in reports by both Chinese and Western analysts, although the recently published imagery does not yet allow a clear determination as to whether this will ultimately be implemented. While Beijing’s intention may be to make this leap with the Type 004, there is also the possibility of an incremental approach, in which the ship would initially be equipped with a conventional propulsion system to serve as a bridge until the development of a suitable reactor is completed.
Regardless of these technical specifics, the reality is that China’s advances in aircraft carrier construction have already raised concerns among its main geopolitical rival. As previously reported last December, a report by the U.S. Naval Institute stated that Beijing was on track to build a fleet of nine aircraft carriers by 2035. This would ensure a powerful force-projection capability in the Indo-Pacific and other strategically important regions, especially when combined with the development of new Type 076 amphibious assault ships, whose design will allow the deployment of a significant number of complementary drones.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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