It takes the Americans 12 years at least to commission an aircraft carrier. The Chinese are doing it in 2 – 3 years. At this speed the Chinese can match the 10 American aircraft carrier battle groups maybe by 2025. The Type 001A aircraft carrier is a Chinese aircraft carrier that was launched on 26 April 2017 for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China. She is the country’s second aircraft carrier after the completion of Liaoning (also a Type 001 aircraft carrier), and the first built domestically.The first Type 001A aircraft carrier is being constructed by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company. The aircraft carrier is heavily based on the Soviet Union’s Kuznetsov class, as China’s first carrier, the Liaoning, was constructed from an incomplete Kuznetsov-class vessel. She is slightly modified and upgraded compared to the Liaoning, with improved radar and increased storage capacity for ammunition and fuel, allowing her to carry more aircraft than the Liaoning (estimated to be between 30 and 40 jets and helicopters). She measures about 315 metres (1,033 ft) long, with a displacement of about 50,000 tonnes (70,000 loaded). The ship is believed to be powered by conventional oil-fired boilers driving steam turbines. She retains the ski jump takeoff, which limits her 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.
