Chinese-made aircraft carrier Type 001A to start a 4 days sea trials.

According to the South China Morning Post, the first Chinese-made aircraft carrier the Type 001A is expected to start a four-day sea trial in the next few days. According to military experts, the sea trials for the Type 001A had been faster and more efficient compared with those for its sister ship, the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier.

The Chinese-made aircraft carrier Type 001A (Picture source Internet)

The previous sea trials of the Type 001A was performed on February 27, 2019. It was the fifth sea trial in Dalian city, northeast China's Liaoning province. It would have successfully tested its avionics, radar and communication systems in previous trials, so it is likely fighter jets will conduct take-offs and landings.

The Type 001A aircraft carrier is a first-generation Chinese aircraft carrier that was launched on 26 April 2017 for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China. It is the country's second aircraft carrier after the completion of Liaoning, and the first built domestically.

The aircraft carrier was built by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, part of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, in Dalian, Liaoning province, China. According to the state media service Xinhua, initial work on the vessel began in November 2013, and construction of its hull in a drydock began in March 2015.

The aircraft carrier's design is largely based on China's first carrier Liaoning, which was itself built from the partially-complete hull of the Soviet Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier Varyag. It retains the ski-jump takeoff, which limits its air wing to helicopters and Shenyang J-15 fighter jets, and the ship is powered by conventional oil-fired boilers driving eight steam turbines derived from the Soviet-designed examples installed on Liaoning. It measures about 315 meters (1,033 ft) long, with a displacement of about 55,000 tonnes (70,000 loaded).

Chinese military experts said the new aircraft carrier Type 001A will likely enter service within 2019. In the meantime, China has already started building a third aircraft carrier.