China deploys Liaoning and Shandong for first 'Dual carrier Op' exercise to show its naval prowess to the world
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| Dual aircraft carrier formation with the Shandong and the Liaoning. (Picture source: Chinese TV) |
China for the first conducted what is referred to as “dual carrier op” or “photo op” with both operational Chinese Navy aircraft carriers. CV-16 Liaoning and CV-17 Shandong sailed together in close formation in the South China Sea, while twelve J-15 carrier-borne fighter jets flew overhead. Notably as many as 15 J-15B catapult-capable fighter jets were likely part of this display. In addition the new J-15D electronic warfare variant also seems to have been present on Shandong’s flight deck.
Supporting the two carriers were three Type 055 DDG, cruiser-sized guided missile destroyers of 13,000 tons displacement each. Further escorts included five Type 052D DDG and one Type 054A FFG. Interestingly both Type 901 fast combat supply ships also took part in this event. The Type 901 is a very large auxiliary design specifically developed to support carrier strike groups.
Multi-carrier ops as statement of naval capability
Chinese state media circulated related imagery and footage earlier today on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The event is notable also insofar as CV-17 Shandong has been in service for five years now. Other naval services previously jumped quickly on the opportunity of showing off newly commissioned carriers operating together. The British Royal Navy did so with their Queen Elizabeth-class carriers in 2021, two years after Prince Of Wales commissioned, immediately after the carrier completed sea trials. The Indian Navy sailed their carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya together in 2023, one year after Vikrant formally commissioned.
Milestone after long journey for both Chinese carriers
CV-16 Liaoning originally commissioned with PLAN in September 2012. The carrier then had completed a thorough rebuild following the purchase of the ship from Ukraine in 1998. Since that time Liaoning served as a key asset in establishing Chinese carrier aviation. As then sole carrier she performed all sea-based training of naval aviation pilots and crews.
CV-17 Shandong entered service with PLAN in December 2019. The ship is a modified Kuznetsov-class design. Various changes did away with some of the original Soviet characteristics in order to provide a more capable carrier capability. Unlike her sistership Shandong is also the first aircraft carrier fully constructed in China. After completing lengthy trials the ship started to assume the same training role Liaoning performed before.
Meanwhile CV-16 Liaoning underwent a lengthy modernization, the second such event after 2018, between March 2023 and February 2024, followed by multiple sea trials. The ship then returned to her homeport at the Qingdao Naval Base in Huangdao in early June. Liaoning afterwards resumed her training role for PLAN, most prominently taking part in the “Joint Sword 2024B”-naval drills around Taiwan earlier in October. In between her first training excursion and Joint Sword 2024B the ship docked at Sanya Naval Base, homeport of her sistership Shandong. This event also marked a first for both carriers, which never before docked side by side outside of maintenance work in Dalian.
PLAN on its way to a three carrier-navy
After concluding the first dual carrier op for China, Liaoning returned via the Taiwan Strait to her homeport in Qingdao. CV-17 Shandong remains in the South China Sea, where the ship is homeported as mentioned above. The third Chinese aircraft carrier, CV-18 Fujian, continues with sea trials out of Shanghai, where its builder Jiangnan operates. Fujian, the first PLAN carrier equipped with catapults and a more capable fixed wing-air group, will likely continue with trials until at least 2025. The ship may notionally enter service next year with the Chinese Navy. As such the operational appearance especially of the J-15B already presented a sneak-preview also of this significant capability expansion for PLAN in the near future.
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