China launches new high-tech aircraft carrier

China launched a new-generation aircraft carrier Friday, the first such vessel to be both designed and built in China, as part of its efforts to extend the range and power of its navy. The Type 003 carrier christened Fujian left its drydock at a shipyard outside Shanghai in the morning and tied up at a nearby pier, state media reports said. In an image released by CCTV, assembled navy personnel were shown standing below the massive ship as water jets sprayed over its deck and colorful streamers flew through the air. Equipped with the latest weaponry and aircraft-launch technology, the Type 003 ship’s capabilities are thought to rival those of Western carriers, as Beijing seeks to turn its navy, already the world’s largest, into a multi-carrier force. Ridzwan Rahmat, an analyst with Jane's defense intelligence company based in Singapore, said, "This is a significant milestone for China's military-industrial complex." “This shows that Chinese engineers are now able to indigenously manufacture the full suite of surface combatants associated with modern naval warfare, including corvettes, frigates, destroyers, amphibious assault ships, and now an aircraft carrier,” he said. China's first carrier was a repurposed Soviet ship, and its second was built in China but based on a Soviet design. This ability to build complex warships from the ground up will benefit China's shipbuilding industry. Both were built to employ a so-called “ski-jump” launch method for aircraft, with a ramp at the end of the short runway to help planes take off. The Type 003 utilizes a catapult launch, which experts had said seemed to be similar to a system developed by the United States Navy.

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