China readying new catapult for 3rd aircraft carrier

China readying new catapult for 3rd aircraft carrier: experts

Source Global Times

Editor Huang Panyue

China is likely to use an electromagnetic catapult for fighter jets on its third aircraft carrier, experts said on Thursday.

The world's leading electromagnetic catapult technology was developed by a team led by Ma Weiming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Beijing-based expert, who asked for anonymity, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The technology will likely be used on China's third aircraft carrier - and second domestically made carrier - to revitalize the army through science and technology, he said.

The expert also said that the Central Military Commission has sent signals to adopt scientific achievements to enhance the military's combat capabilities and narrow the gap between China and other powers.

Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told the Global Times that security is the main concern for those who prefer steam-driven to electromagnetic catapults.

Globally, carriers launch aircraft via three basic methods: steam-driven catapult, electromagnetic catapult or ski jump.

China's first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, adopted the ski jump approach. Ten of 11 US aircraft carriers use steam catapults.

The USS Gerald R Ford is the only aircraft carrier that uses an electromagnetic catapult, experts said. The new catapult is believed to be more efficient and less damaging to planes.

Ma told media his team had conducted successful tests on the technology and are confident about its practical use.

As China has overcome the core technological problems of electromagnetic catapults, the technological advantage should be used to enhance combat capability, Li said. 

Original post: globaltimes.cn

Electromagnetic catapult device

China will now be able to move ahead with its third aircraft carrier, after it announced a breakthrough on technology for launching aircraft.

The new technology would be the most advanced jet launch system in the world that doesn’t use nuclear power, China's military said. The new developments on its integrated propulsion system would create more power for an electromagnetic catapult. Aircraft would be launched more quickly and in less time than the alternatives, steam-catapult and ski-jump systems. The country’s two prior carriers, the Liaoning and the Type 001A, are ski-jump launch systems, a technology designed by Russia. 

China doesn’t need to copy the United States and use nuclear reactors to support EMALS and other energy-hungry weapons on the ship, because it now has more advanced technologies to solve the problem,” a naval expert close to the project told the South China Morning Post. Source: newsweek.com

The People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, has been operating a pair of catapults at its carrier training base at Huangdicun since the second half of 2016. The pair are believed to consist of a single steam catapult and one EMALS. The service is evaluating both systems and carrying out test launches using a modified Shenyang J-15 (Flying Shark) carrierborne fighter jet.

The PLAN currently has one aircraft carrier — the Liaoning, which is a refurbished and modernized Soviet-era Kuznetsov-class carrier — in service with another, locally built ship currently fitting out. The latter ship is a slightly modified version of the Liaoning, and both are equipped with a ski jump, which is used to launch the J-15. Source: defensenews.com

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