Chinese Navy Type 001 aircraft carrier Liaoning concludes open-sea combat training.

According to information published by Chinamil on December 30, 2021, the People's Liberation Army (China) Navy's Liaoning aircraft carrier formation returned on Thursday to a military port in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, concluding 20-plus days of open-sea combat training.
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A carrier-based J-15 fighter jet preparing to land during open-sea combat training. (Picture source: Xinhua News)

Liaoning 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.

Originally laid down in 1985 for the Soviet Navy as the Kuznetsov-class aircraft cruiser 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.

It is conventionally powered, has an estimated full load displacement of 60,000 to 66,000 tons, and reportedly can accommodate 36 aircraft including 24 Shenyang J-15 fighters, six Changhe Z-18F anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters, four Changhe Z-18J airborne early warning helicopters, and two Harbin Z-9C rescue helicopters.

The Liaoning lacks aircraft catapults and instead launches fixed-wing airplanes off the ship’s bow using an inclined “ski ramp.”