Judging from all the public reports and materials, China’s first indigenous aircraft carrier copies the overall design of Liaoning Aircraft Carrier. The benefits of doing so include short construction period, and fighting capacity formed in a short period, according to a Chinese observer.
However, after gaining enough experience of aircraft carriers, China will surely build bigger aircraft carriers with aircraft launchers, said the observer.
After visiting China’s Liaoning Aircraft Carrier in July 2014, US Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert speculated that the new homemade aircraft carrier of China should be similar to Liaoning aircraft carrier, with ski-jump take-off and alike tonnage, between 65,000 tons and 70,000 tons.
Senior researcher of International Assessment and Strategy Center Richard Fisher also said China will have 4 to 5 in-service aircraft carriers by 2030, and this number will reach 10 finally, which is the peak of China’s ambition in future decades.