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China’s second aircraft carrier has docked at Yulin Naval base at the southern tip of Hainan Island, amid media speculation that it will soon be commissioned into Peoples’ Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) service. Satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies show the Type-001A carrier at pier side. Seven Shenyang J-15 fighters are visible on the deck, as are four helicopters. The rotorcraft comprise what appears to be a trio of Changhe Z-18s and a single Harbin Z-9.
The carrier recently sailed from the Dalian shipyard to Hainan Island via the Taiwan Strait.

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Image of China's Type-001A shot by Maxar Technologies' WorldView-1 satellite.
Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies.

When commissioned (and named) the Type-001A will become China’s second operational carrier after Liaoning, which was developed from the hulk of the Varyag, a Kuznetsov-class carrier that the Soviet Union never completed owing to the end of the Cold War. The Type-001A represents a major milestone for Beijing as it is the country’s first locally designed and built aircraft carrier. Though it resembles Liaoning, with the same conventional powerplant, reports suggest it can carry 44 aircraft, compared with 36 for Liaoning. The vessel also has updated radars and a modernised bridge.

Both Liaoning and Type-001A use a ski-jump to launch fixed-wing aircraft. This limits payload and precludes operations of support aircraft for missions such as airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) and antisubmarine warfare.

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Yulin Naval Base is at the Southern tip of Hainan Island. Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies.

China’s third carrier, the Type-002, will be equipped with electromagnetic aircraft launch and recovery systems (EMALS), allowing it to operate a similar mix of fixed wing aircraft as found on US Navy aircraft carriers. In May, an artist's impression on social media offered more details about the Xian KJ-600, an AEW&C type resembling the Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye AEW&C aircraft.
The impressions suggest that the twin-turboprop KJ-600 will also have a carrier on-board delivery (COD) variant similar to the C-2 Greyhound, and an anti-submarine warfare variant.

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Experts have warned that China is advancing rapidly with anti-ship ballistic missile technology and sophisticated tracking capabilities that could put British aircraft carriers at greater risk.

Beijing has developed both intermediate and long-range ballistic “carrier killer” missiles and is thought to have conducted a test of at least one variant in the South China Sea in the past six months.

Improvements in China’s surveillance and reconnaissance capability – spanning satellites, drones and aircraft – also mean its ability to hit a moving target on water is strengthening, according to analysts.

The developments are likely to fuel concerns about the vulnerability of Britain’s two aircraft carriers in parts of the Pacific in the immediate term and further afield in future. There are fears other countries could also adopt the technology.

Beijing is thought to have recently tested on a moving target at sea the intermediate-range Dong Feng 21D anti-ship ballistic missile, which can travel a distance of 1,500km (932 miles). There has also been speculation that an even longer-range Chinese anti-ship variant of a ballistic missile called the Dong Feng 26, which has a reported range of 3,500km (2,175 miles), has been tested.

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The US Navy said Thursday that a Chinese military warship fired a military grade laser at US Navy P-8 surveillance aircraft last week while it was flying over the Pacific Ocean, an action that the US Navy called "unsafe and unprofessional."
The People's Republic of China "navy destroyer's actions were unsafe and unprofessional," US Pacific Fleet said in a statement Thursday.
"Weapons-grade lasers could potentially cause serious harm to aircrew and mariners, as well as ship and aircraft systems," the statement added.Military-grade laser beams, occasionally known as "dazzlers," omit a powerful beam of light that can travel great distances and be used to illuminate aircraft cockpits, temporarily blinding pilots.
Defense officials told CNN that a formal diplomatic protests known as a démarche is expected to be issued.

The incident comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and Chinese militaries.
The Pentagon has repeatedly said that China represents an increasingly serious threat to regional security, saying that major Chinese investments in its military are aimed at achieving regional dominance.
"Over time, we have watched them seize and militarize islands in the South China Sea, and rapidly modernize their armed forces, while seeking to use emerging technologies to alter the landscape of power and reshape the world in their favor ... and often at the expense of others," US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said earlier this month.The US has similarly issued such diplomatic protests in the past due to what the US said was Chinese military forces using lasers against US aircraft.
One such incident took place in the East African nation of Djibouti where both the US and China maintain military bases. US officials in 2018 accused Chinese forces stationed in Djibouti of injuring US pilots with a laser that was fired at a US C-130J aircraft.

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