It took China more than a decade to build its
first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
The Liaoning is a rebuilt soviet
aircraft carrier, formally known as the Varyag.
Now that China has learned to build an aircraft carrier it started to build
more. News reports have confirmed that 2 new carriers are building build, one
in Dailan in the north and 1 in Shanghai. Rumors have it that a total of 3
carriers are being built. No matter the numbers, everybody knows that China
envisions to build several carriers and built a true aircraft carrier fleet to
strengthen its navy. With a Chinese carrier fleet ready in the next several
years it would be wise to speculate on what this force will look like and what
capabilities it will have.
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| The Liaoning escorted with 2 destroyers and 2 frigates during her last training mission |
Design is a major factor in asserting what China’s future carrier fleet will look
like and what it will be capable of. Carriers are divided into 2 different
types of design: short take-off but arrested-recovery (STOBAR) and catapult-assisted take-off but arrested-recovery (CATOBAR). These design types also determine what kind of aircraft carriers can
operate and in turn what kind of missions can be executed.
Design
China’s only carrier, Liaoning, is a STOBAR
design. Aircraft launch under their own power using a ski-jump to assist
take-off. The STOBAR system has the advantage that it is simpler to build than
CATOBAR — but it works only with light, and lightly armed, fighter aircraft
that have a high thrust to weight ratio. From this last sentence one can easily
conclude that aircraft, launched by a STOBAR system have to be light. They can
carry only a limited amount of fuel and weapons. Therefor these aircraft are
suited only for defense, defending the carrier and its escorts and secure air
superiority directly around the task force.
CATOBAR
is a system in which aircraft are launched using a catapult assisted take off
and land on the ship (the recovery phase) using arrestor wires. The advantage
of this system is that it can launch heavier fighters than the STOBAR system. Aircraft
with a higher weight in fuel and weapons can be launched with a CATOBAR system.
These aircraft have a bigger range and are more suited for offensive
capabilities by bringing heavier firepower in the conflict zone.
The
question is whether China will choose to use the STOBAR or CATOBAR system for
its new carriers. Given that the Liaoning
is a STOBAR carrier one would say that China would continue to build STOBAR
carriers. However in 1985 China managed to buy the HMAS Melbourne, Australia’s only carrier and equipped with steam
catapults. Although China promised to turn the HMAS Melbourne into scrap the ship was studied in depth and the ship's
flight deck and all the equipment associated with flight operations was removed
for study, including the steam catapults that were left on board. So China has
the technology and the know how to build CATOBAR carriers by using the design
of the steam catapults of the HMAS Melbourne .
Aircraft
As said earlier, the design of the carrier
determines the kind of aircraft that is to be used on board of the carrier.
STOBAR demands light aircraft like the Sukhoi SU-33, Mikoyan MiG-29 or the
Shenyang J-15. These are aircraft that can carry only a small payload in
weapons and a limited amount of fuel. Too much weight would prevent these
planes from taking of. Their limited fuel and payload prevent these aircraft
from carrying out offensive missions over a long distance. They are best suited
to create air superiority over the task force itself and protect it against air
attacks from enemy aircraft. Due to their low weight and the high thrust to
weight ratio needed for take-off, these aircraft are very maneuverable and can
easily outmaneuver their opponents in a dog fight.
CATOBAR on the other hand allows for the launch
of bigger, heavier planes like the F-18 (super) Hornet and the Dassault Rafale.
These aircraft can take a large amount of fuel and weapons with them, thus
traveling several hundreds of miles to their target zone and delivering a large
amount of firepower on their targets. It is clearly that such aircraft are best
suited for offensive missions.
A downside is that a STOBAR aircraft cannot be
launched with a catapult. STOBAR aircraft are light aircraft and their frame
cannot withstand the forces generated by a catapult. Launching a STOBAR
aircraft with a catapult will result in the aircraft being snapped in two.
Tactics
As said earlier, a STOBAR carrier has light
aircraft and is suited for defense while a CATOBAR carrier is suited for
offense. As the design determines the aircraft a carrier can deploy, so too do
the aircraft determine the type of tactics and missions. We in the West are
used to the idea that carriers are offensive weapons, bringing firepower to a
conflict zone several hundreds of miles away from the carrier. STOBAR carriers
can only achieve local air superiority above the carrier task group and are
thus only suited for defense. So how can the Chinese overcome the limitations
of a STOBAR carrier?
A western carrier task force is centered around
the aircraft carrier that is the principal weapon in the task force. The
cruisers and destroyers around it serve only as protection. It would be wrong
to assume that China would just copy the way carriers are operated in the West.
For a long time China had to rely on frigates
and destroyers to form the bulk of their naval power. These ships were armed
with several anti-ship missiles to attack enemy warships. The Chinese military
is strongly missile minded, this is proven by the development of anti-ship
ballistic missiles (ASBM) like the Dong-Feng 21 (DF-21D) to strike at enemy
aircraft carriers up to distances of 1.500 km from the Chinese shore. We can
expect that China, even with the formation of aircraft carrier task forces,
will still be missile minded in which the frigates and destroyers will be the
offensive units or shooters. The carrier will then be used to protect these
shooters against enemy airstrike until they are in range to attack.
China has recently also found a way around the
limited range of its J-15 fighters by using air-to-air refueling. The first
J-15 will take off from the carrier without weapons but with all the fuel it
can carry while the second one takes off with a maximum payload of weapons.
Once airborne, the second J-15 fighter then refuels from the first one and can
now fly further and with more weapons than when taking off in the normal
configuration. The first J-15 then returns to the carrier either to get ready
to refuel another fighter or to provide air cover above the carrier.
Conclusion
China possesses the capabilities of building
steam catapults with the purchase of the HMAS Melbourne in 1985. This would allow the Chinese to start building a
CATOBAR carrier faster than is anticipated since a large step in research and
development is skipped. Even if China can build a CATOBAR carrier it still
lacks the planes capable of operating from such a carrier as China’s current
carrier aircraft, the J-15, can’t handle the forces generated by a catapult
take-off. A new type of aircraft would have to be developed by the Chinese.
China’s fleet of STOBAR carriers would however
fit the Chinese missile centered doctrine and carrier aircraft are just needed
to protect the frigates and destroyers that are currently the main offensive
units within the Chinese Navy. A CATOBAR carrier would then only be needed if
China chooses to be a global maritime player and feels the need to intervene
far away from its shore where planes with a long range and a high payload in
weapons would allow China to intervene in a conflict zone without risking to
put its aircraft carrier too close to this zone. However, using air-to-air
refueling, China might have found a way in giving its STOBAR carriers a more
offensive role instead of a purely defensive one.
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