The People’s Liberation Army Navy has carried out its first-ever dual carrier drills, with Chinese media releasing photos and video footage Thursday of the Liaoning and the Shandong – the country’s two operational aircraft carriers, conducting out large-scale exercises somewhere in the South China Sea.
Evocative of imagery of the great Ming Dynasty voyages of ancient times, the footage published Thursday showed the two carriers sailing in the open sea, flanked by nearly a dozen smaller warships, and a sortie of 12 fighters flying in formation overhead, with CGTN saying the drills were “aimed at enhancing integrated combat capabilities.”
“The training included multiple real-combat scenarios, with J-15 fighter jets taking off from the Liaoning’s deck to perform drills in designated airspace,” CGTN said.
Commissioned in 2012, the Liaoning is a rebuilt, deeply modernized and adapted Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier – which was purchased by China from Ukraine in the late 1990s.
China commissioned the Shangdong, in 2019 – this time building the entire warship from scratch, but with based on the Liaoning’s characteristics.
China’s third carrier – the Fujian, features entirely domestic design solutions to carrier design, based in part on experience gained through the operation of the Liaoning and Shangdong. Launched in 2022, the Fujian began sea trials this past May.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy plans to deploy a total of between five and six aircraft carriers total by the mid-2030s, significantly expanding its naval power projection capabilities.
The United States Navy, by comparison, currently fields 11 aircraft carriers and nine smaller helicopter carriers. China has expressed no interest in matching the size and capabilities of the US carrier fleet, however, focusing its attention and resources on shoring up home and regional defense.