On August 2, CCTV aired a multimedia video titled “Pursuing Dreams,” which mentioned that the Chinese PLA aircraft carrier, the Shandong, encountered ‘foreign’ circular reconnaissance during its far-sea training in the Western Pacific. The number of military aircraft increased progressively from 5 batches of 10 to 19 batches of 26. According to the video analysis by scholars and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Public Relations Research Institute’s Academic Committee, “Modu Chunqiu,” the so-called foreign military is believed to be the US aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz (CVN-68), marking the first publicized ‘confrontation between Chinese and US aircraft carriers.’
Modu Chunqiu noted in a post on “Today’s Headlines” that there are two reasons for this judgement. First, only a US aircraft carrier could launch such a large number of carrier-based aircraft while maintaining a high frequency of takeoff and landing, a typical US Navy aircraft carrier harassment tactic. Second, judging from the previously disclosed course of the Shandong’s sea training, on April 11-12 of this year, the Shandong and the Nimitz were both in the southern seas of Miyako Island. At one point, the two ships were less than 300 kilometers apart, consistent with the claims made in the CCTV program.
Modu Chunqiu emphasized that according to the program, foreign military aircraft were effectively repelled by the J-15 carrier-based fighters, suggesting that in this confrontation with the Nimitz, the young Shandong ship did not fall behind, “instead, it gave the Americans something to look at.”
However, he also cautioned that when the Nimitz is on strike carrier duty, it can deploy over 150 sorties of carrier-based aircraft on the first day, and maintain about 100 sorties thereafter. The CCTV program also mentioned that foreign military aircraft can launch 19 batches of 26 in a single sortie, an efficiency that is quite astonishing. Even considering the performance difference between Chinese and US aircraft carriers, it has to be acknowledged that the PLA has a lot of room for improvement in the use of aircraft carriers.
Modu Chunqiu further stated that in the face of US carrier-based aircraft attempting close reconnaissance, the Shandong can dispatch its carrier-based aircraft to drive them away. This clearly shows that in the face of US aircraft carriers, the Shandong is not without the power to fight. If the Liaoning ship completes its overhaul and re-enters the ranks in the future, the PLA will have two aircraft carriers capable of far-sea deployment. This could mean that for a third or even half of the year, there might be a Chinese aircraft carrier near the US base in Guam, which would undoubtedly be a great pressure for the US.