Researchers in the US have confirmed that China is working on a nuclear-powered propulsion system for an aircraft carrier warship. The researchers have confirmed that the country has developed a land-based prototype nuclear reactor that can provide power to a large surface warship, Interesting Engineering reports.
This is the clearest indication towards China developing its own very first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The research conducted by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California is the first to confirm that China is working on a nuclear-powered propulsion system for a large warship.
Nuclear-powered warships take much longer time to build than traditional carriers. However, they provide the added advantage of being able to stay at sea for exponentially longer durations.
Moreover, using a nuclear reactor for propulsion also means that they can store more weapons and other crew members’ requirements in place of fuel.
The reactor also allows them to generate more power with which they can run better, bigger, and more advanced technical systems on the warship.
Nuclear-powered carriers
Only the United States and France have nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. As China inches towards this capability, it could soon become the third country to have them in its fleet.
China’s PLA Navy already has the largest number of vessels in the world. It is also quite modernized, and adding nuclear-powered carriers will only improve its prowess and dominance.
With longer range of operations, China can also extend its impact around the globe on the seas and oceans. This might lead to Beijing challenging the US’ authority in key areas which are a point of contention between its immediate neighbors and elsewhere.
According to the report by AP, the US currently has 11 nuclear-powered carriers, while France has just one – named Charles de Gaulle. Paris is building another nuclear-powered new generation carrier – called Porte Avion Nouvelle Génération (PANG) – which will replace the existing model in 2038.
If Beijing has succeeded in building the nuclear-propulsion tech for powering large vessels, it could introduce them in warships at a faster pace.
China’s PLA Navy capabilities
According to an earlier report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China has 234 warships as compared to the 219 that the US has in its fleet.
The CSIS report warned that the US should keep modernizing its fleet and add more warships, destroyers, guided missile cruisers, and submarines to ensure it stays ahead of Beijing.
The report also mentioned that China’s ships are far more new and modernized than their US counterparts. Its shipyards are also more productive and have been producing vessels at a faster rate.
The most recent addition to China’s fleet was the Fujian aircraft carrier.
China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, had claimed that it was “the world’s largest known conventionally powered aircraft carrier by displacement.”
The indigenously built vessel was the nation’s largest, and it is also building another one at a fast pace – the details of the latter being powered by nuclear or conventional energy are yet to emerge.
Fujian has completed two sea trials. It is also equipped with electromagnetic catapults, an advance that allows aircraft to be launched more frequently and heavier planes to lift off from its deck.
The USS Gerald R Ford is the only other aircraft carrier that has this capability.
