An aircraft carrier is no ordinary warship, it is a mobile fortress on the ocean, a symbol of naval power. Since the beginning of the last century, China has been trying to develop its own aircraft carrier business. From the original Liaoning ship to the current Fujian ship, every step has been solid and powerful. And now, the construction of the fourth aircraft carrier shows China's firm determination in maritime strategy. Isn't three aircraft carriers, you may ask, enough? It's not enough.
For China, which has a vast maritime territory, the building of naval power is of paramount importance. However, in the face of the vast ocean and long coastline, it is obviously difficult to meet China's maritime strategic needs with only the existing three aircraft carriers, the Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian. CCTV has previously made it clear that China's ocean area is vast, and three aircraft carriers are far from enough. This attitude clearly conveys the urgency and importance of China's naval construction.
So, how many aircraft carriers does China need in the future? It depends on China's development goals. If it is only to maintain the balance of power with the United States in the western Pacific and maintain regional stability, some experts believe that six to eight aircraft carriers are about the same. It is also one of the thresholds to become a naval power. If you want to build a world-class navy, you need to have at least 10 or more aircraft carriers.
At present, we have deployed three fleets in the western Pacific and the South China Sea. Normally, a fleet needs to be equipped with two aircraft carriers to meet daily needs, one is in a state of training and patrol, and the other is under maintenance.
In this case, the navy needs at least 6 ships. In fact, it is more reasonable to allocate 3 ships per fleet, and add one as a backup. After all, the maintenance of aircraft carriers is very long, there are time for months, or even a year. If war breaks out, the three aircraft carriers will be more strategically flexible, so that if you calculate it, you will need to configure at least nine aircraft carriers.
It is worth mentioning that modern naval warfare has undergone profound changes. With the development of the reconnaissance system, the width of the battlefield has expanded to thousands of kilometers away. In such a battlefield, once you face the opponent, you can't easily get out of it. Therefore, the United States will not dare to start a war lightly without absolute naval superiority. The US think tank has done actual combat simulations on many occasions, and no matter how it fights, the US military has no certainty of victory.
Of course, under such a strategic layout, in addition to the number of aircraft carriers, their quality is also very critical. At present, the United States has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, all of which are 9-110,000 tons. China's in-service aircraft carriers are all 65,000-80,000 tons, using conventional power. The gap with US aircraft carriers is still quite large.
So many people set their sights on the fourth aircraft carrier, and many people wondered, will this aircraft carrier be nuclear-powered? On this issue, our side did not give a clear message, before the Navy political commissar General Yuan Huazhi said in an interview: The 004 aircraft carrier will surprise everyone, and it shows that there has been significant progress and there are no technical bottlenecks.
In fact, about the 004 aircraft carrier, the construction began as early as 2021, and now 3 years have passed, and it is already on the way. As for whether it is nuclear power or not, it is not easy to guess. It is also not official. According to relevant sources, its displacement will not be less than more than 80,000 tons of the Fujian ship, and the keel has been laid and will be launched in the next two years. Let's look forward to it together.