The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is still conducting sea trials of its first big locally built aircraft carrier, the 80,000-ton Fujian. While Fujian’s crew works out the ship’s kinks, the crews of the PLAN’s other carriers – the ex-Soviet Liaoning and her Chinese-built sister Shandong – are training for war.
Their focus, it seems, is on increasing the sortie rate for their 24-jet air wings. The good news, for the Chinese, is that – according to the Japanese defence ministry – the 50,000-ton Liaoning has demonstrated she can launch nearly 50 fixed-wing sorties a day for as many as nine days in a row. That’s impressive for a flattop with Liaoning’s limitations.
The bad news for the Chinese is that the US Navy’s own carriers can sustain many more sorties over a longer period of time – and there are a lot more American carriers.
An aircraft carrier is only as useful as its aeroplanes. Conversely, carrier-based planes are only as useful as their carrier. How frequently a carrier can launch its planes dictates how much firepower its air wing can bring to bear over time.
Daily sortie rate is a rough measure of this overall firepower. For the US Navy’s 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarriers, each displacing 100,000 tons, the standard is 120 sorties a day for weeks at a time for an air wing with around 60 fixed-wing aircraft. The expectation is that, in an emergency surge, a Nimitz would launch 240 sorties in 24 hours.
The Americans’ new Ford-class carriers – one of which is already in service – are around the same size as the Nimitzes but are designed for an even higher sortie rate, with roomier flight decks and more efficient elevators for moving aircraft and munitions between the flight deck and the hangar. With 60 fixed-wing aircraft, a Ford should manage 160 sorties a day, or 270 in a 24-hour surge.
The US Navy’s flattops routinely sustain twice as many daily sorties as the PLAN’s flattops have managed on rare occasions in recent years. Fujian’s arrival might close the gap somewhat, but for now the Americans have a massive carrier firepower advantage.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is still conducting sea trials of its first big locally built aircraft carrier, the 80,000-ton Fujian. While Fujian’s crew works out the ship’s kinks, the crews of the PLAN’s other carriers – the ex-Soviet Liaoning and her Chinese-built sister Shandong – are training for war.
Their focus, it seems, is on increasing the sortie rate for their 24-jet air wings. The good news, for the Chinese, is that – according to the Japanese defence ministry – the 50,000-ton Liaoning has demonstrated she can launch nearly 50 fixed-wing sorties a day for as many as nine days in a row. That’s impressive for a flattop with Liaoning’s limitations.
The bad news for the Chinese is that the US Navy’s own carriers can sustain many more sorties over a longer period of time – and there are a lot more American carriers.
An aircraft carrier is only as useful as its aeroplanes. Conversely, carrier-based planes are only as useful as their carrier. How frequently a carrier can launch its planes dictates how much firepower its air wing can bring to bear over time.
Daily sortie rate is a rough measure of this overall firepower. For the US Navy’s 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarriers, each displacing 100,000 tons, the standard is 120 sorties a day for weeks at a time for an air wing with around 60 fixed-wing aircraft. The expectation is that, in an emergency surge, a Nimitz would launch 240 sorties in 24 hours.
The Americans’ new Ford-class carriers – one of which is already in service – are around the same size as the Nimitzes but are designed for an even higher sortie rate, with roomier flight decks and more efficient elevators for moving aircraft and munitions between the flight deck and the hangar. With 60 fixed-wing aircraft, a Ford should manage 160 sorties a day, or 270 in a 24-hour surge.
The US Navy’s flattops routinely sustain twice as many daily sorties as the PLAN’s flattops have managed on rare occasions in recent years. Fujian’s arrival might close the gap somewhat, but for now the Americans have a massive carrier firepower advantage.