by Guru Meditation » Mon Aug 08, 2022 6:44 am
Rizla wrote: ↑Wed Jun 22, 2022 4:35 am
The Fujian is colossal: at 316m (1,037ft) long, it will weigh around 100,000 tonnes when fully loaded. Its electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) will accelerate jets taking off at speed, assisting their take-off with such force the aircraft will be able to carry more fuel and weapons, therefore extending the reach and size of the punch the aircraft carrier packs. Early warning aircraft will be able to take off and land more easily, enhancing the carrier’s ability to spot its enemies from further away.
EMALS is also able to launch more aircraft at a greater rate, getting more jets into the air faster than its opponents using older technologies – and is vital for defending itself against incoming attacks.
This latest feature gives the Fujian a significant edge, as only the United States’ latest Ford-class of aircraft carrier is equipped with it. France is slowly developing a similar system and India is examining its feasibility, but outside the US, only China employs this system. Its navy has yet to operate a nuclear-powered carrier, as the US has done for decades. The Fujian is conventionally powered but predictions are that the next one to be built by China will be nuclear-powered.
The Fujian do have some impressive metrics, however it also has severe limitations.
A) Currently China has no supply vessels that can exceed, or even maintain its speed, so they either need to send supply ships in advance to tanking locations, thus telling the world where they are going, which is never ideal for a naval strike force. Or steam at a lower pace, so that the current supply ships can keep up, thus negating most of its performance gains.
B)EMALS consume much more power than steam-based catapults. Not a major issue by itself, but given the supply limitations mentioned above, this will severely limit the sustainable level of daily sorties unless they slow steam, or return to harbor every week or so. For maintained high sortie rates you burn epic amounts of fuel and are heavily dependent on regular replenishment.
These two factors in combination, will severely limit the practical range, to mostly be coastal defense until a new fleet of better-performing supply ships materializes.
[quote=Rizla post_id=1048553 time=1655847359]
The Fujian is colossal: at 316m (1,037ft) long, it will weigh around 100,000 tonnes when fully loaded. Its electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) will accelerate jets taking off at speed, assisting their take-off with such force the aircraft will be able to carry more fuel and weapons, therefore extending the reach and size of the punch the aircraft carrier packs. Early warning aircraft will be able to take off and land more easily, enhancing the carrier’s ability to spot its enemies from further away.
EMALS is also able to launch more aircraft at a greater rate, getting more jets into the air faster than its opponents using older technologies – and is vital for defending itself against incoming attacks.
This latest feature gives the Fujian a significant edge, as only the United States’ latest Ford-class of aircraft carrier is equipped with it. France is slowly developing a similar system and India is examining its feasibility, but outside the US, only China employs this system. Its navy has yet to operate a nuclear-powered carrier, as the US has done for decades. The Fujian is conventionally powered but predictions are that the next one to be built by China will be nuclear-powered.
[/quote]
The Fujian do have some impressive metrics, however it also has severe limitations.
A) Currently China has no supply vessels that can exceed, or even maintain its speed, so they either need to send supply ships in advance to tanking locations, thus telling the world where they are going, which is never ideal for a naval strike force. Or steam at a lower pace, so that the current supply ships can keep up, thus negating most of its performance gains.
B)EMALS consume much more power than steam-based catapults. Not a major issue by itself, but given the supply limitations mentioned above, this will severely limit the sustainable level of daily sorties unless they slow steam, or return to harbor every week or so. For maintained high sortie rates you burn epic amounts of fuel and are heavily dependent on regular replenishment.
These two factors in combination, will severely limit the practical range, to mostly be coastal defense until a new fleet of better-performing supply ships materializes.