Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning

Liaoning (16; Chinese: 辽宁舰; pinyin: Liáoníng Jiàn) is a Chinese Type 001 aircraft carrier. The first aircraft carrier commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force, she was originally classified as a training ship, intended to allow the Navy to experiment, train and gain familiarity with aircraft carrier operations. Following upgrades and additional training in late 2018, Chinese state media announced that the ship would shift to a combat role in 2019.

Liaoning (16)
The aircraft carrier Liaoning in Hong Kong in 2017
Class overview
BuildersDalian Shipbuilding Industry
Operators People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded byKiev class
Succeeded byType 002 Shandong
Completed1
History
Soviet Union → Ukraine
NameRiga (1988) then Varyag (1990)
NamesakeCity of Riga, Latvia (1988) then Varyag, named for the Varangians (1990), the name Varyag was then adopted by another cruiser.
Ordered1983
Builder
Laid down6 December 1985
Launched4 December 1988
CompletedAbandoned (68% complete)
Fate
  • Sold to a Chinese buyer, 1998
  • Transferred to the Chinese navy, 2002
China
Name
  • Liaoning
  • (Chinese: 辽宁舰)
NamesakeLiaoning Province
BuilderDalian Shipbuilding Industry
CostUS$ 120 Million (Former Ukraine)
Completed2011
Commissioned25 September 2012
Motto(Simplified Chinese:保卫祖国,勇争第一):Defend the motherland, strive to be the first.
StatusIn active service
General characteristics for Varyag as originally designed
Class and typeType 001, Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier
TypeSTOBAR aircraft carrier
Displacement
  • 43,000 tons, light
  • 54,500 tons, normal
  • 60,900 tons, full load
Length
  • 306.4 m (1,005 ft 3 in) o/a
  • 270 m (885 ft 10 in) w/l
Beam
  • 74.4 m (244 ft 1 in) o/a
  • 35 m (114 ft 10 in) w/l
Installed powerSteam
Propulsion
  • Steam TV12 turbines, 8 KVG-4 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp (150 MW)
  • 4 × 50,000 hp (37 MW) turbines
  • 9 × 2,011 hp (1,500 kW) turbogenerators
  • 6 × 2,011 hp (1,500 kW) diesel generators
  • 4 × fixed pitch propellers
Speed32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range3,850 nmi (7,130 km; 4,430 mi) at 32 knots
Endurance45 days
Complement
  • 1,960 crew
  • 626 air group
  • 40 flag staff
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Type 346 radar S-band AESA
  • Type 382 Radar 3-D search
General characteristics for Liaoning after refit
Class and typeType 001 aircraft carrier
Armament
  • 3 × Type 1130 CIWS
  • 3 × HQ-10 (18-cell missile system)
Aircraft carried

Originally laid down in 1985 for the Soviet Navy as the Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier Riga, she was launched on 4 December 1988 and renamed Varyag in 1990. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, construction was halted and the ship was put up for sale by Ukraine. The stripped hulk was purchased in 1998 and towed to the Dalian naval shipyard in northeast China.

The ship was rebuilt and commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as Liaoning on 25 September 2012. Its Chinese ship class designation is Type 001. In November 2016, the political commissar of Liaoning, Commodore Li Dongyou, stated that Liaoning was combat-ready.

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