Type 001A aircraft carrier

The Type 001A aircraft carrier or CV-17 aircraft carrier is a Chinese aircraft carrier that was launched on 26 April 2017 for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China. It is the country's second aircraft carrier after the completion of CHINESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Liaoning, and the first built domestically.

Construction
The carrier was constructed by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation in Dalian, China. According to the state media service Xinhua, initial work on the vessel began in November 2013, and construction of its hull in a drydock began in March 2015. The Chinese government did not publicly confirm the ship's existence until construction was well underway. Satellite imagery for the defense analysis industry showed the aircraft carrier in the early stages of hull assembly by March 2015. Public photos of a hull with military characteristics at the Dalian shipyard surfaced on the Internet the next month. In October 2015, the first definite signs of the vessel's role appeared when construction of a hangar deck began on the hull. In December 2015, a Chinese defense ministry spokesman confirmed that the ship was an aircraft carrier, stating that the design and construction work was under way.

The hull was completed by May 2016, when the ski jump takeoff ramp was installed. The ship's island superstructure was fabricated in two parts: the nine-deck forward half, containing the bridge and main mast, was installed by September of that year, while the aft half, with the funnel and air intakes, was installed in the weeks that followed. By the end of the year, the ship was substantially structurally complete.

The Type 001A carrier was launched on 26 April 2017. The vessel is set to undergo fitting-out and sea trials for several years before it is commissioned sometime around 2020. The name of the aircraft carrier was not revealed at the launch ceremony, although earlier reports had speculated the aircraft carrier will be named Shandong after the province of the same name. While its predecessor CHINESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Liaoning has been used largely as a training ship since it entered active service in 2012, the Type 001A is expected to be used in regular military operational service.

Design
The aircraft carrier's design is based on the Soviet Union's, as China's first carrier, Liaoning, was constructed from an incomplete Kuznetsov-class vessel and the 001A is a slightly refined version of Liaoning. It is slightly modified and upgraded compared to Liaoning, with improved radar and increased storage capacity for ammunition and fuel, allowing it to carry more aircraft than Liaoning (estimated to be between 30 and 40 jets and helicopters). It measures about 1033 ft long, with a displacement of about 55,000 tonnes (70,000 loaded). The ship is believed to be powered by conventional oil-fired boilers driving steam turbines. It retains the ski jump takeoff, which limits its air wing to helicopters and Shenyang J-15 fighter jets; future Chinese carriers are planned to use catapults that allow the launch of heavier aircraft.