Satellite Images Reveal China's Aircraft Carrier 'Factory'

CSIS/ChinaPower/Airbus 2019/Handout via Reuters

Task & Purpose/Reuters: Satellite images reveal China's aircraft carrier 'factory,' according to experts

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - High-resolution satellite images show that the construction of China's first full-sized aircraft carrier is progressing steadily alongside expansive infrastructure work that analysts say suggests the ship will be the first of several large vessels produced at the site.

The images of the Jiangnan shipyard outside Shanghai were taken last month and provided to Reuters by the non-partisan Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), building on satellite photos it obtained in April and September last year.

Noting a series of pre-fabricated sections, bulkheads and other components stacked nearby, CSIS analysts say the hull should be finished within 12 months, after which it is likely to be moved to a newly created harbor and wharf before being fitted out.

The vast harbor on the Yangtze River estuary, including a wharf nearly 1 kilometer long and large buildings for manufacturing ship components, is nearly complete. Much of the harbor area appeared to be abandoned farmland just a year ago, according to earlier images CSIS analyzed.

It dwarfs an existing harbor nearby, where destroyers and other warships are docked.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Chinese are definitely dedicated to building a navy that can match any navy in the world, including against the U.S. Navy.