Nuclear aircraft carriers are a go? "Linglong One" has a horsepower of 420,000, surpassing the Nimitz class; Pentagon: Uh-oh.
In the tide of global technological and military competition, China's breakthrough with its "Linglong One" small nuclear reactor has drawn attention. Recently, this reactor, dubbed the "nuclear power bank," passed inspection and was shipped out from Harbin. Netizens jokingly said it could keep phones charged for 200,000 years, and behind the jokes lies its formidable energy output capability.
As the world's first small nuclear reactor to pass international atomic energy agency safety reviews, "Linglong One" is seen as a potential heart for China's 005 nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Standing at 14 meters tall with dimensions less than 10 meters wide and long, it outputs 310MW (nearly 420,000 horsepower), far exceeding the combined 260,000 horsepower of two reactors on the US Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, and its safety reaches military standards, laying a solid foundation for the construction of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
An aircraft carrier is the core of maritime military power, and a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier symbolizes long-distance deterrence. When the US had the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in 1961, China, due to weak industry, was mocked for building "concrete aircraft carrier models." In 1994, when the USS "Cowie" entered the Yellow Sea, our military pilots forced the US back at the cost of their lives. Now, although China has three conventional-powered aircraft carriers, compared with the US's 11 nuclear-powered carriers, developing nuclear-powered carriers remains an urgent task in naval construction.
After more than ten years of research and development, in 2023, the core module of "Linglong One" successfully lifted off, marking that China's modular small reactor technology ranks among the world leaders. The outline diagram of the new aircraft carrier released by Jiangnan Shipyard (hull number "20") shows a compact island design similar to the Ford-class carriers. Military experts analyze that the next-generation aircraft carrier is very likely to be equipped with "Linglong One" nuclear power technology and China's independently developed medium-voltage DC integrated electric power system. This system has significant advantages over foreign AC systems in terms of equipment size and system efficiency, enabling stable power supply for advanced equipment such as electromagnetic catapults.
Once the technology is successfully applied, China's aircraft carrier's endurance and combat capabilities will greatly increase, potentially surpassing US counterparts in overall performance and occupying a more advantageous position on the international military stage.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829906341294084/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views.