Liaoning aircraft carrier's first battle group to be formed next year

Source : http://www.wantchinatimes.com

China's first aircraft carrier battle group is expected to be formed next year to make up for the shortcoming of the limited combat radius of the country's existing fleets, according to China's official news agency Xinhua.

Citing the Military-Industrial Courier, a Russia-based weekly, the report said China's first carrier, the Liaoning, embarked on its first blue-water passage in early 2014 escorted by 12 vessels of different classes. The carrier, refitted in Dalian from a Soviet-era hulk purchased from Ukraine in 1998, was commissioned in 2012.

Beijing is considering different approaches for forming its aircraft carrier battle groups, including the one used by the United States Navy, the report said. Two new aircraft carriers built domestically with greater displacement and greater power are also planned, with the long-term goal of having four new carriers, it added.

With a driving power of 200,000 horsepower, the Liaoning has displacement of 67,500 tonnes at maximum load.

China began to build its first new aircraft carrier in 2013, which is expected to have "initial combat ability" in 2020. The PLA Navy also saw the number of its surface vessels more than double. It now has 50 missile frigates and destroyers in service compared with 15 in 2000.

The country has also spared no efforts in overhauling its old vessels by equipping them with its most advanced weapons, the report said. The PLA's latest model of frigate is equipped with Russian-made P-270 supersonic anti-ship missiles with a range of 209 kilometers and the domestically produced YJ62 anti-ship missiles (241 km), YJ83 missiles (152 km)and YJ8A missiles (104 km), while the Luyang-class or Type 052D destroyers, the most advanced surface vessels in China's navy, will be equipped with vertical launch systems and long-range anti-ship missiles.

China is also developing 10,000-tonne cruisers that are expected to be armed with massive anti-air, anti-ship, ship-based cruise missiles, and even magnetic weapons in the future, according to the report.