The United States has long been the only Nation to exhibit Naval influence all over the world but China hopes to challenge the U.S. Navy’s supremacy with its new Carrier the Fujian. Are these dreams going to become a reality for China?
First lets discuss size, the bigger the vessel the harder it is to sink thus meaning the longer it can stay in a battle. The USS Gerald R Ford is slightly longer than the Fujian at 1,092 ft (333 m) compared to an estimate of 1,036 ft (316 m). The USS Gerald R Ford’s displacement is much greater at 100,000 tonnes to the Fujian’s 80,000 tonnes. The USS Gerald R. Ford’s larger overall mass and longer size makes it more durable in battle, the U.S’s carriers continue to be hard to sink.
Next the Endurance of the Carriers, The Fujian uses diesel generators to power the ship, this is a problem because China does not have many bases around the world that the carrier can rest or refuel at which means the Fujian will not be able to stray far from the Chinese mainland for long. This is in contrast with the USS Gerald R. Ford because it is powered by a nuclear reactor which can power something much bigger than the USS Gerald R. Ford meaning, without worrying about power, the USS Gerald R. Ford can stop at any of the U.S’s many naval bases around the world and be modified or refueled if need be. over all the U.S.’s carriers will be able to conduct any military exercises or participate in any battles for much longer than the Fujian.
Next lets compare experience, while the USS Gerald R. Ford may be new to the U.S Navy, the operation of aircraft carriers isn’t. The United States has operated aircraft carriers for over 100 years meaning the U.S Navy has a repertoire of Naval exercises it can reflect on and learn from. This is very important because carrier operations are notoriously difficult. The amount of experience also means that the crews that operate U.S. aircraft carriers are very well trained and all of them know how to efficiently control an aircraft carrier and can perform the many procedures needed in day to day life on an aircraft carrier. The Chinese lack experience in operating aircraft carriers with the Fujian only being their 3rd carrier. The Chinese will likely be able to learn from the U.S though and it has proven to be a quick learner. Overall the Chinese lack experience needed when operating an aircraft carrier compared to the U.S but we should expect them to learn.
Lastly lets talk about the aircraft aspect. The aircraft are a carrier’s main weapon and in this aspect China falls short. The USS Gerald R. Ford can carry about 90 aircraft with about 3/4 being combat aircraft while the Fujian has been speculated to only carry about 40 aircraft. The type of aircraft matters too and again China falls short. The USS Gerald R. Ford’s air wing will likely be made up of F-18s and F-35Cs where the Fujian’s will likely be made up of the J-15 which is strictly inferior. Over all the USS Gerald R Ford is much better than the Fujian in most aspects but the Chinese will learn from the U.S and we will see improvements in the future.
Related Stories:
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-vs-chinese-navy-aircraft-carriers-2024-5
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a63706058/china-vs-america-aircraft-carriers/
https://www.newsweek.com/fujian-china-ford-aircraft-carrier-comparison-1899121
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