Putting the carrier into water marked progress in China's efforts to design and build a domestic aircraft carrier, state-run Xinhua news agency commented.
Now under construction in the city of Dalian, on the Liaodong Peninsula to the south of the Liaoning Province, the carrier is expected to be a bit larger than its predecessor. It is expected to be formally commissioned sometime before 2020, after sea trials and the arrival of its full air complement.
"Among three carrier fighting groups, just one would be able to carry out operational missions because one would be used for training, while the third would have to undergo maintenance", he said.
The new carrier is based closely on the PLAN's sole operational aircraft carrier, Liaoning, with an angled flight deck and a ski jump for short takeoff but arrested recovery operations. It limits the weight of the payloads its planes can carry, its speed and the amount of time it can spend at sea relative to American nuclear-powered carriers.But they lack the powerful catapult technology for launching aircraft of their US counterparts.
The as-yet unnamed vessel was towed from Dalian Shipyard, Liaoning, to a nearby wharf, China's Ministry of National Defence said.
While the new Chinese vessel pales in comparison with its American counterparts, its coming into service would make China become the premier aircraft carrier power among Asian nations.
The 500,000 tonne carrier is the country's second and the first to be created domestically.
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The launch was attended by the vice-president of China's central military commission, Fan Changlong.
There is also the ongoing issue of competing territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Type 002 will be "far more advanced" than the first two carriers, according to the state-owned Global Times. Earlier reports also suggested that the ship's hangars were built large enough to accommodate between 28 to 36 aircraft onboard.
Up to 20 of the attack planes have been built, according to reports, and the J-15 "likely exceeds or matches the aerodynamic capabilities of virtually all fighter aircraft now operated by regional militaries, with the exception of the US F-22 Raptor", according to China Signpost.
The BBC observes that China's carriers are "technologically inferior" to the ten carriers now operated by the United States Navy, relying on conventional instead of nuclear power, but still represent a major step forward in both technological innovation and military power for China.
- The Liaoning has been conducting take-off and landing drills in the South China Sea this year.
According to Yvonne Chiu, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong, China's navy is trying to enhance its ability to operate globally across open oceans.
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