China is putting the finishing touches on its first homemade aircraft carrier, according to satellite imagery reviews by IHS Jane's. The pictures reveal that shipbuilders in the Dalian Shipyard show the hull, bow, and other sections of the Type 001A aircraft carrier nearly complete. China has been modernizing its military and attempting to develop platforms that will allow its forces to operate further abroad. The People's Liberation Army Navy currently has one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a Soviet era carrier which it purchased from Ukraine and has been using for training purposes.
Plans for China's third aircraft carrier appear to have leaked online, according to imagery posted on Chinese military forums and reviewed by IHS Jane's. If the images are authentic, the ship does away with the curved ski jump deck seen on the Type 001A, currently under construction, leading to speculation that it will use a catapult system to launch aircraft. Once finished, the ship will be China's second indigenously-produced flattop. The People's Liberation Army Navy purchased its first carrier, an old Soviet vessel, from Ukraine and is nearly finished building its first homemade one.
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