A satellite image shows what appears to be the construction of a third Chinese aircraft carrier at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. Photo: CSIS/ ChinaPower/ Maxar Technologies via Reuters<doc-sep>ZHUHAI, CHINA - NOVEMBER 4: (CHINA OUT) A J-10, China's multirole fighter plane performs a demonstration at the 7th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, on November 4, 2008 in Zhuhai of Guangdong Province, China. The event, also known as 'Airshow China', is scheduled to run from November 4 to 9, 2008 in Zhuhai, attracting nearly 600 exhibitors from over 30 countries and regions. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images) China's second aircraft carrier was launched at a ceremony on April 26, 2017. It is their first domestically-built carrier and is yet to be fully completed. China's new 10,000-tonne guided-missile destroyer enters the water at Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard during a launching ceremony on the morning of June 28, 2017. As China's new domestically-produced destroyer, it is equipped with latest air defense, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapon systems. (eng.chinamil.com.cn / Photo by Chen Guoquan and Yin Hang) Chen Guoquan and Yin Hang/Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China (CNN) — New satellite images published by a US think tank may provide the world’s first look at China’s next aircraft carrier, as construction progresses on a mysterious large vessel in a shipyard outside Shanghai. Significant new activity at the Jiangnan Shipyard was captured in satellite images from April, published by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). According to CSIS, they show a massive bow and main hull section of a large vessel under construction. At points, the hull section is as wide as 40 meters (131 feet). Experts said while it was difficult to be sure, the size and scale of the new vessel strongly suggested China’s much-anticipated new aircraft carrier, referred to as Type 002. “What we are seeing at Jiangnan is consistent with what we would expect for the build of the Type 002. The vessel under construction is rather large, so that limits what else it could be,” CSIS analyst Matthew Funaiole said. CSIS/ChinaPower/Maxar Technologies Satellite images released by CSIS which could show the new advanced Chinese aircraft carrier under construction in April. Rumors that the Chinese military was constructing a third, more modern aircraft carrier have been circling for more than a year. It was only in November that state media Xinhua first hinted at a new vessel. “Six years have passed, our (first) domestic carrier has been trialed, entry into service is just around the corner. The new aircraft carrier has also been built on the slipway,” the article said. The US Department of Defense has estimated that it could be completed as early as 2022. China currently has one aircraft carrier in operation, the Liaoning. Another is undergoing sea trials: the unnamed Type 001a, the country’s first domestically built aircraft carrier. Funaiole said with three operational aircraft carriers in its fleet, China would be joining “an exclusive club of countries.” CSIS/ChinaPower/Maxar Technologies Satellite images from April show a rapid series of changes at the Jiangnan shipyard, outside of Shanghai. Director of the International Security Program at Sydney’s Lowy Institute, Sam Roggeveen, said while China’s first two carriers are variations on an older Soviet-era design, the Type 002 is expected to have more in common with advanced US vessels. “The previous two had what they call a ski jump ramp which allows aircraft to take off without any mechanical assistance,” he said, adding the new model is likely to have a more-advanced catapult launch system. “You can launch more aircraft, and heavier aircraft, which effectively means the ship becomes much more capable.” Rapid naval expansion In the past few years, China’s navy has expanded at an increasingly rapid pace. Between 2016 and 2017, 32 new ships were commissioned by the PLA, according to US government reports. In comparison, the US commissioned 13. Since 2014, China has launched more submarines, warships, principal amphibious vessels and auxiliaries than the total number of ships currently serving in the navies of Germany, India, Spain, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, according to a 2018 report by think tank IISS. Production capacity is still increasing as well. Satellite images of Jiangnan Shipyard outside of Shanghai showed it had increased in size by 64% over the past decade. Beijing’s domestically-produced aircraft carrier, the Type 001a, is likely to be put into service in 2019, according to a new Pentagon report, which said China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) was developing into a “global force.” “The PLAN’s ability to perform missions beyond the first (Pacific) island chain is modest but growing as it gains more experience operating in distant waters and acquires larger and more advanced platforms,” the Pentagon report said. But Roggeveen said it could be a while before the Chinese navy began to steadily churn out aircraft carriers at the rate it has other ships. “China’s now on such a steep learning curve that they’re not really at the point where they can start building several of these without learning and refining their design as they go,” he said. “They’re aiming for something that I think they can’t get in one leap.”<doc-sep>Satellites images obtained and analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies show China's third aircraft carrier, likely be its first modern flattop, under construction at Jiangnan Shipyard. CSIS, like the Pentagon, believes the new carrier will be much larger than its predecessors and include a catapult aircraft launch system. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The construction of a new, larger aircraft carrier — likely be China's first modern flattop — can be seen in recent satellite images of Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. While China has not officially acknowledged work on a new aircraft carrier, Chinese state media first confirmed rumors of a "new-generation carrier" in November. The US Department of Defense reported last week that this new carrier is indeed under construction. Read more: China has a 3rd aircraft carrier in the works, and it could be a really big deal, Pentagon reveals Satellite images obtained and analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies provide additional confirmation, as well as the first apparent view of the new carrier.<doc-sep>Images released by a Washington-based think-tank show construction on China’s third and largest aircraft carrier, activity analysts believe could eventually challenge U.S. strategic superiority in East Asia. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington released images from April that reveal construction on China’s third aircraft carrier in the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai over the past six months, Reuters reported. US WARSHIPS SAIL NEAR DISPUTED ISLANDS CLAIMED BY CHINA, AS TENSIONS ESCALATE: REPORT China has not confirmed it is building a third carrier. But the Pentagon said last week that work had begun on a vessel that would “probably be larger than the first two and fitted with a catapult launch system to accelerate aircraft during takeoff.” The CSIS images support the Pentagon’s claims. The satellite photographs show China’s Type 002 aircraft carrier is slightly smaller than U.S. carriers but larger than France’s Charles de Gaulle, analysts said. It remains unclear whether the vessel would have nuclear capability. Changing political relationships have motivated the Chinese government to accelerate the modernization of its armed forces over the past few years, the CSIS reports. Both Asian and Western militaries are seeking information regarding the purpose of China’s newest aircraft carrier. Meanwhile, some analysts view its construction as a way for China to slowly undermine U.S. strategic superiority in the region, according to a series of Reuters Special Reports. Singapore-based regional security analyst Ian Storey told Reuters that China’s Type 002 might put added stress on the relationship between the U.S. and China as other nations in the region become threatened by China’s growing military presence. “Once completed, it will outclass any warship from any Asian country, including India and Japan,” said Storey, of the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. “It is yet another indication that China has emerged as Asia’s paramount naval power.” CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP China’s second, smaller aircraft carrier is not set to go into service until the year 2020. The U.S. operates 11 aircraft carriers in the region. State media has previously reported the Chinese military needs 6 aircraft carriers.<doc-sep>
Recent satellite photographs indicate China’s construction of its third aircraft carrier is well under way, a Washington thinktank has reported. ChinaPower, a unit of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published photos of a large vessel under construction at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai. The bow and hull are already under assembly, the pictures indicated, and are probably the beginnings of the 80-85,000 tonne Type 002 aircraft carrier the Chinese navy has been known to be planning. “Visible through the clouds and mist is what looks to be a bow and main hull section of a large vessel,” ChinaPower said. “While details regarding the Type 002 are limited, what is observable at Jiangnan is consistent with what is expected for the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s third aircraft carrier.” A satellite image shows what appears to be the construction of a third Chinese aircraft carrier at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai on 17 April. Photograph: HANDOUT/Reuters China’s first carrier, the three-decade-old, 66,000-tonne Liaoning, was acquired from Ukraine. The second, a home-built carrier designated Type 001A and based on the Liaoning’s design, began sea trials one year ago. ChinaPower said that, based on the photos, the Jiangnan shipyard appears to be building a new tower crane, a floodable ship basin and a launching channel to accommodate the huge new carrier. In a report published online, ChinaPower said the carrier is expected to be completed in 2022. In January, a senior Chinese naval expert said the country needs “at least” three carriers to defend its coastline and global interests. “Our country has an 18,000km (11,000-mile) long coastline. Also, our economy is outward looking and our interests abroad are growing,” said Commodore Zhang Junshe, a member of the Naval Research Institute.