CCTV military media officially released high-definition video of the Fujian ship's catapulting carrier aircraft for the first time, showing a 30-ton large aircraft being catapulted instantly. The Airborne Early Warning (AEW) 600 and J-35 completed their public catapulting debut successively, marking China's official entry into the era of catapulted carriers.
01. Finally exposed, our military's Fujian ship has completed the catapult takeoff!
It was unexpected that today, CCTV military media made a big news, suddenly announcing that China's third aircraft carrier, Fujian, has completed the electromagnetic catapult takeoff and landing tests of the airborne early warning aircraft AEW-600 and the stealth fighter J-35. Unlike previous text messages, the official released on-site footage of the operation of the electromagnetic catapult system for the first time.
The timing of this news release is highly significant. A week ago, the Fujian ship had just completed its first crossing of the Taiwan Strait and a research and training mission in the South China Sea. Now it has been exposed to conduct catapult tests, and the outside world generally speculates that this is a public opinion preparation for the Fujian ship joining the South China Sea Fleet and holding an induction ceremony during the National Day holiday.
Experts said that the complete testing and verification of the Fujian ship's catapult system means that China has become the second country in the world, after the United States, to independently master electromagnetic catapult technology.
Previously, although the U.S. Ford-class aircraft carriers applied electromagnetic catapults first, they frequently encountered problems such as linear motor heat dissipation and reliability of energy storage devices, and their actual launch efficiency did not meet expectations.
China, through technological breakthroughs led by Academician Ma Weiming's team, overcame the "bottleneck" of electromagnetic catapult technology, achieving full-chain independent controllability from theory to engineering, laying a technical foundation for the development of future aircraft carriers. More importantly, the Chinese aircraft carrier electromagnetic catapult system is truly a "racing ahead," not only skipping the steam catapult stage, but also the DC catapult technology is one generation more advanced than the U.S. AC catapult technology.
Other than the publicly released electromagnetic catapult footage, the most eye-catching is the AEW-600. This is the first time the details of the AEW-600's on-board design have been disclosed up close. Experts say that the obvious characteristics of the AEW-600 are multiple H-type vertical tails and large straight main wings, with an appearance similar to the U.S. E-2.
This multiple H-type vertical tail design provides better lateral and directional stability compared to traditional single vertical tails, significantly reducing the risk of vibration, especially in high sea conditions and large angle of attack flights. The large straight main wing meets the needs of high-altitude cruising and long-duration patrols.
02. The significance of AEW-600 is great, leading the U.S. by one generation
U.S. media stated that AEW-600 is technologically one generation ahead of the U.S., with its new active phased array radar KLC-7 on the back of the aircraft having a detection range of 600 kilometers (the U.S.'s most advanced E-2D is 450-500 kilometers), making it the world's longest-range carrier-based early warning aircraft. The performance of the new-generation gallium nitride radar has comprehensively surpassed the U.S.
KLC-7 radar can track 2000 airborne targets simultaneously and guide 50-100 targets for interception. It can detect stealth fighters at a distance of over 240 kilometers. In addition to the main radar on the back, AEW-600 has, for the first time, installed a large active phased array radar on the nose, capable of collaborative engagement (CEC) combat capabilities, not only responsible for forward blind spot coverage, but also directly participating in target fire control guidance.
It is worth noting that AEW-600 is not specifically tailored for the Fujian ship. Its design fully considers the adaptability to the ski-jump deck of the Liaoning and Shandong ships. Its fuselage lift coefficient and powerful two 5100 horsepower class engines are sufficient to allow AEW-600 to take off from the Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers using a ski-jump method.
This move is of great significance. The full deployment of AEW-600 finally fills the critical "situation awareness" capability gap in the Chinese Navy's aviation forces. Previously, the Chinese aircraft carriers did not have dedicated carrier-based early warning aircraft. The early warning aircraft could only rely on early warning helicopters (such as the Zhi-18Y), whose limited detection range and insufficient loiter time severely restricted the warning range of the formation, and could not be compared with fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft.
The timing of the Fujian ship forming combat capability coincides with the changing security situation in the Asia-Pacific region. The combination of AEW-600 and the Fujian ship will significantly enhance the Chinese Navy's air and sea control capabilities in the Western Pacific.
The deployment of AEW-600 will extend the warning range of the Fujian ship strike group to thousands of kilometers away, enabling the Chinese aircraft carrier to have the ability to keep enemies at a distance of thousands of kilometers. With carrier-based early warning aircraft, the Chinese aircraft carrier battle group can now have full-time, full-sky information about tens of thousands of square kilometers of airspace nearby, forming a one-way information transparency advantage.
If the Fujian ship joins the fleet as speculated during the National Day holiday, together with the Liaoning and Shandong ships, the three-aircraft carrier battle group will enable China to have the capability to deploy forces simultaneously in the Middle East, the Western Pacific, and the Indian Ocean for the first time. The existence of AEW-600 allows the Chinese aircraft carrier groups to maintain absolute control over the air and sea in distant seas, providing a more reliable support for overseas interests.
03. The performance of the new generation of Chinese carrier aircraft family has comprehensively surpassed the U.S.
Aside from the AEW-600, the J-35 fighter jet was also involved in the catapult test. The biggest significance of the J-35 is that it enables the Chinese carrier aviation forces to have the capability to compete with the U.S. carrier-based stealth fighters for the first time. When it comes to performance, especially the most important air combat performance, the J-35, which has the advantage of later technology, is superior to the U.S. F-35C. Especially in terms of maneuverability, radar, and weapons, the J-35 is currently the strongest carrier-based stealth fighter in the world.
The U.S. Navy has a large scale and resources, maintaining the world's first aircraft carrier and carrier aviation combat force with its old capital. Not only does it have an advantage in quantity, but its carrier aircraft technology was previously clearly superior to that of the PLA.
But now the situation has completely changed. The new Chinese J-15T heavy carrier aircraft, J-15DH carrier electronic warfare aircraft, and J-35 carrier stealth fighter have comprehensively surpassed the U.S. F-18 medium carrier aircraft, EG-18A carrier electronic warfare aircraft, and F-35C in technology. The newly inducted AEW-600 has even formed a one-generation technological advantage over the U.S. E-2 early warning aircraft. Now, the only remaining advantage of the U.S. is its scale.
This transformation not only marks a historic shift from a yellow-water navy to a blue-water navy for China, but will also have a profound impact on the power structure in the Western Pacific. From now on, the U.S. will only rank behind the PLA in the strength of its aircraft carrier forces deployed in the Asia-Pacific region.
Some content of the article comes from the following sources: 1. CCTV military media: AEW-600 of Fujian ship completes electromagnetic catapult flight test
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7552851021303726630/
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