China’s First Aircraft Carrier…Don’t Panic.

On August 10, 2011, the first Chinese Aircraft carrier embarked on its maiden voyage.  This signals a boost in international prestige for China, as well as a big step in modernizing their military.  However, I cannot help but read article after article as to how this can be a threat to the United States and its interests.  I have read headlines that range from “the end of American naval dominance” to “their aircraft carrier can complete with the United States’”.     

Lets take a further look at this from a different angle than that of the mainstream media.  China’s first and only aircraft carrier, so far, is not a brand new construction.  Formerly known as the Varyag, this is a Soviet era aircraft carrier that was purchased by China from the Ukraine, a former Soviet Bloc nation.  In comparison to the aircraft carriers deployed by the United States, this is extremely limited in capabilities. 

The Varyag will only be able to accommodate 26 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.  Currently, China is testing the Shenyang J-15, a carrier based fighter jet that is based off of the Soviet made Sukhoi Su-33…a fourth generation fighter jet.  Although the Shenyang J-15 is still being tested, Chinese officials claim that it could match the capabilities and performance of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the United States Navy’s front line carrier based fighter jet.  

The Varyag is fitted with a “ski jump” ramp, which is used for their aircraft to take off from.  This is very different from American aircraft carriers, since all operate their flight decks with a catapult system.  The “ski jump” ramp is limited when compared to the catapult system because it greatly reduces the number of aircraft the carrier can operate.

The USS ENTERPRISE, CVN-65, is the oldest of 11 active aircraft carriers in the United States Navy today.  Its maiden voyage was January 12, 1962 and has gone through several refits to accommodate advanced aircraft that followed since it was commissioned, as well as enhancing the nuclear powered engines that allow this vessel to operate.

The USS ENTERPRISE can hold up to 90 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, but maintains 70.  It is also important to note that the 10 other active aircraft carriers are Nimitz-Class supercarriers, and accommodates 90 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.  All carriers have the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as its front line fighter aircraft. 

By 2020, the United States will have completed construction and deployed two brand new aircraft carriers, the USS GERALD R FORD and the USS JOHN F KENNEDY of the Ford-Class supercarriers, a new class of aircraft carrier design.             

A couple years back, Lockheed Martin delivered the F-22 Raptor, the worlds first fifth generation fighter jet, to the United States Air Force.  This is a highly advanced aircraft that is dubbed as a “game changer” from officials at the Pentagon.  While conducting research for my graduate thesis, I had the opportunity to talk with United States Navy pilots and get their feedback on the F-22…they were amazed at the performance and capabilities.   

Over the last few weeks, Lockheed Martin has just delivered the worlds second fifth generation fighter jet, the F-35, which is a single engine multirole aircraft that is based off of the F-22.  The United States Navy is already receiving deliveries and will be through 2014.

As far of as China looking to compete with the United States in regards to military power is, in my opinion, just absurd.  To add to that, it seems that every time budget talks are going on, the American people will see headlines like this that raises fear and fear sells.

Although China may want to flex its military muscles over territorial disputes, it will be a long time before that is a reality since they to not have the ability to conduct military operations at the capacity in which the United States does.

The bottom line is that China is not a military competitor the way most Americans are taught to think of military competitors.  They are not looking to directly compete with the United States.  Instead, I see this as China trying to develop a naval presence in their waters and we cannot blame them for that since we are the only naval presence in our waters.