Liaoning Aircraft Carrier

The first aircraft carrier of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, commissioned in 2012 after the conversion of the unfinished Soviet carrier Varyag.

Liaoning Aircraft Carrier

Overview

The Liaoning (辽宁) is the first aircraft carrier operated by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It is a ship acquired and converted from the Varyag, the second Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier whose construction was halted by the Soviet Union. It was officially commissioned at Dalian Shipyard on September 25, 2012, and is a medium-sized carrier with a full-load displacement of about 60,000 tons. It carries great symbolic significance as the first time the Chinese Navy secured the capability to operate a carrier strike group, and it is evaluated as the starting point of China's carrier force construction, later followed by the Shandong and Fujian.

Main Content

Origins and Acquisition

Varyag was laid down in 1985 at the Black Sea Shipyard in Nikolayev, Soviet Union, and launched in 1988, but construction was halted after the collapse of the Soviet Union when Ukraine gained ownership. In 1998, a Chinese private company signed a purchase contract for about $20 million under the pretext of converting it into a floating casino and hotel, and after being towed, it arrived at Dalian Port in 2002. From 2005, large-scale conversion began under navy leadership, and the ship was named after Liaoning Province, where the conversion took place.

Specifications and Structure

Full-load displacement: about 60,000–67,500 tons
Length: about 305 m; Beam: about 75 m
Propulsion: four steam turbines, eight boilers; maximum speed about 30 knots
Launch and recovery: STOBAR (ski-jump ramp + arresting wires), 14-degree inclined deck
Armament: HQ-10 (FL-3000N) short-range air-defense missiles, 30 mm CIWS, anti-submarine rockets, etc.
Carrier aircraft: J-15 "Flying Shark" fighters, Z-8 and Z-9 helicopters, etc., about 24–36 aircraft

Carrier Aircraft Operations

In November 2012, the first landing and takeoff of a J-15 fighter succeeded, demonstrating practical carrier operation capability. Later, the J-15D electronic warfare variant and the Z-18 airborne early warning helicopter were added. The Liaoning has a strong character as a training and experimental carrier and has served as a platform for verifying new carrier aircraft and tactics. Around 2024, it was reported that its deck and electronic equipment were improved through refit.

Missions and Strategic Significance

The Liaoning conducts open-sea training in the South China Sea and the Western Pacific centered on the Liaoning carrier group, and is also used as a means of conveying political messages, such as transiting the Taiwan Strait. From China's perspective, it is an asset that simultaneously achieves the expansion of the near-seas defense (A2/AD) system and the accumulation of carrier group operation know-how.

Limitations and Assessment

The ski-jump method has constraints on takeoff weight, limiting the carriage of airborne early warning aircraft or large weapons, and the absence of fixed-wing airborne early warning aircraft, conventional propulsion, and the lack of steam catapults are cited as limitations. However, the prevailing assessment is that it has made a decisive contribution to raising the proficiency of crew members and carrier pilots as a training carrier.

Latest Trends

In October 2024, the Liaoning and Shandong conducted their first dual-carrier simultaneous exercise in the South China Sea, demonstrating the expansion of China's carrier force. In 2025, the Liaoning carrier group conducted long-term open-sea training in the Western Pacific, including near Okinawa, and surveillance by Japan and the United States was strengthened, with related developments also reported in Japan's Defense White Paper and elsewhere. Meanwhile, as the Type 003 Fujian, equipped with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), conducts sea trials, the Liaoning is also drawing attention as a preceding training platform and as a subject for verifying the operational feasibility of new types such as the J-35 stealth carrier aircraft. Under a plan to build multiple carrier groups by the 2030s, China is expanding carrier bases, support ships, and the KJ-600 airborne early warning system together.