China’s 2nd aircraft carrier (the 1st one fully built locally) completed its 7th set of sea trials in August. It will highly likely be commissioned with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese navy) by the end of the year.
U.S. Marine Corps’ F-35B STOVL fighters will be the first fixed wing aircraft to fly from Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Izumo-class “helicopter destroyers”, following the conversion of both JS Izumo and JS Kaga into aircraft carriers.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) unveiled on August 14 an ambitious mid-term defense plan for 2020-2024. In addition to known projects (KDX III Batch II and KSS III Batch II) the plan calls for the design of two new naval projects for the ROK Navy: An LPX-II aircraft carrier and an arsenal ship.
The U.S. Navy declares its newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford CVN78, propulsion plant has “reached completion” over two years after the ship’s delivery in May 2017. Major unspecified issues have now been fixed but the ship remains in the shipyard at Newport News Shipbuilding.
The Italian Navy « Cavour » aircraft carrier yesterday entered the « Edgardo Ferrati » basin at the Maritime Military Arsenal in Taranto, the Italian MoD stated.
In October 2018, during the last edition of Euronaval, Dassault Aviation unveiled a scale model of what could become the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) or Système de Combat Aérien Futur (SCAF). This first model displayed a tailless delta-winged aircraft clearly inspired by Dassault’s Rafale. Despite its presence in a naval exhibition, this plane soon raised questions about its ability to operate from an aircraft carrier, or even to act as an air superiority fighter.
Chinese ship-spotters took pictures showing China’ second aircraft carrier alongside the Type 901 supply vessel Hulunhu (呼伦湖 ) for the first time. This picture, taken on April 28th at the Dalian shipyard, shows the future of the PLAN carrier strike groups.
Recent aerial pictures of Jiangnan shipyard are doing the rounds on social media: They show no less than 15 destroyers and 1 aircraft carrier at various stage of construction.
For the first time ever, two People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) aircraft carriers got underway and were at sea, at the same time. This took place on February 27, 2019.
In the context of the FANAL pre-deployment exercise involving the entire carrier strike group, French Navy (Marine Nationale) aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle set a new record: No less than 35 aircraft, including 30 Rafale Marine, were aboard. All aircraft were lined up on the flight deck for a “PHOTEX”.
