Click here - to select or create a menu

Naval News

DEFEA 2023
  • News
  • Event News
    • Sea Air Space 2023
    • DSEI Japan 2023
    • NAVDEX 2023
    • SNA 2023
    • Euronaval 2022
    • Indo Pacific 2022
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Home» News»Liaoning aircraft carrier returns to sea after refit
IMDEX Asia 2023
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier returned on a new sea trial on Monday after more than half a year's maintenance and modification, our colleagues from East Pendulum unveiled yesterday.
PLAN Liaoning aircraft carrier returned at sea on January 21, 2019

Liaoning aircraft carrier returns to sea after refit

China's Liaoning aircraft carrier returned to sea for trials on Monday following a maintenance and modification period which lasted over six months

Xavier Vavasseur 24 Jan 2019

China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier returned at sea for trials on Monday following a period of maintenance and modification which lasted over six months, our colleagues from East Pendulum reported yesterday.

Based on photos posted on Sina Weibo on Monday, the Liaoning aircraft carrier seems to have set sail from the Dalian Shipyard in Northeast China’s Liaoning Province with the assistance of tug boats on Monday morning.

The vessel’s alleged movement coincides with a notice of a military exercise released by the Maritime Safety Administration of China on Thursday. The exercise is scheduled from Monday to January 28 in North Huanghai Sea near Dalian, and other ships are prohibited from entering a designated area.

Liaoning aircraft carrier returns to sea after refit
The Liaoning began its refit period in the Dalian Shipyard in July 2018. It is seen here in the dry dock in Dalian (below is PLAN’s second aircraft carrier which was locally built ).

The Liaoning began its refit period in the Dalian Shipyard in July 2018 after some six years of service in the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) , Beijing-based newspaper Science and Technology Daily reported

The carrier is expected to participate in a possible naval parade in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the PLAN in April.

In addition to maintaining the Liaoning’s capability, photos show modifications were made to the ship’s superstructure.

Liaoning aircraft carrier returns to sea after refit
The aviation bridge was replaced with a newer design.

Details regarding this potentially major refit were not communicated either by the PLAN, nor the Chinese shipyards, but amateur pictures and satellite images have at least shown that the existing aviation bridge was replaced with a newer design, and the flight deck has also been completely stripped and refurbished.

It should be noted that shortly after the Liaoning started its mid-life refit, the Chinese Ministry of Defense indicated in a weekly press conference that the PLAN carrier group reached a certain maturity and has now passed its initial operational capability (IOC).

The experiences gained during the first six years of deployment of the Liaoning will undoubtedly serve the Chinese Navy to design future aircraft carriers. Apart from the second carrier, which has recently completed its 5th test at sea and is expected to be commissioned this year, fabrication on the third aircraft carrier is about to start, in the third quarter of 2019. This carrier is rumored to be a CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) design equipped with electromagnetic catapults.


China Chinese Navy Liaoning PLAN 2019-01-24
Tags China Chinese Navy Liaoning PLAN
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin Pinterest More
SAS 2023

Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

Related Articles

China launches two more Type 052DL destroyers in Dalian

China launches two more Type 052DL destroyers in Dalian

Tayfun Ozberk 12 Mar 2023
Two Type 052DL class destroyers were launched at Dalian Shipyard, according to images shared on social media.
China Showcases New A45 USV at NAVDEX 2023

China Showcases New A45 USV at NAVDEX 2023

Tayfun Ozberk 20 Feb 2023
Chinese defence company Poly Technologies showcases a brand new unmanned surface vessel (USV) A45 at NAVDEX 2023 exhibition in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
CSIS Wargame: China’s Invasion of Taiwan in 2026

CSIS Wargame: China’s Invasion of Taiwan in 2026

Peter Ong 30 Jan 2023
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) ran a wargame of China invading Taiwan in the year 2026.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Advertisement

Legal / Privacy Policy
About Us
Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 Naval News
All Rights Reserved