Evidence is building China wants a nuclear powered aircraft carrier

What You Need to Know: New satellite imagery confirms China’s development of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier reactor, a major leap in the PRC’s naval modernization. The reactor, built at “Base 909” in Leshan, signifies Beijing’s goal of joining the exclusive group of nations—currently only the U.S. and France—that operate nuclear carriers capable of extended, global operations.

-The PLAN’s nuclear ambitions are clear as they expand their fleet with advanced carriers like the Type 003 Fujian.

-With six carriers planned, China’s bid for “blue water” capability represents an escalating challenge to U.S. maritime dominance amid growing Sino-American tensions.

China’s First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier Confirmed by Satellite Images

For years, Western analysts have grown increasingly concerned over China’s desire to field its own nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Based on recent satellite imagery provided to The Associated Press, these fears may soon become reality.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has constructed a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship.

The Middlebury Institute of International Studies was the first organization to confirm the existence of this propulsion system, which is the latest product of Beijing’s naval modernization program. “The reactor prototype at Leshan is the first solid evidence that China is, in fact, developing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at Middlebury and one of the researchers on the project. “Operating a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is an exclusive club, one that China looks set to join.”

An overview of China’s current carrier capabilities

Beijing has achieved significant milestones in the warship arena over the last decade. Over the summer, China completed the third sea trials for its new Type 003 Fujian domestically-built aircraft carrier. The Liaoning Type 001 carrier was the first of its kind commissioned into the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) fleet, followed by the Type 002 Shandong. Recent reports indicate that China’s Navy is aiming to possess six carriers in service over the next decade.

While the Fujian carriers are not nuclear-powered, they are the only other warships of their kind other than the U.S. Ford-class ships that feature the cutting-edge Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS).

This advanced carrier-based launch system expands the operational capability of carriers by enabling them to launch existing and future carrier air wing platforms from the flight deck. As detailed by the Naval Air Systems Command, EMALS provides numerous benefits including more accurate end-speed control cost reduction, necessary higher launch energy capacity, and increased sortie rates.

Could China achieve “blue water” capability?

According to The Associated Press, the discovered nuclear reactor is positioned in a new facility constructed at the site dubbed as “Base 909,” which also holds six other reactors that are being built, are already operational, or have been decommissioned.

A subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation in charge of reactor engineering research and testing is in control of the site. “Unless China is developing nuclear-powered cruisers, which were pursued only by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, then the Nuclear Power Development Project most certainly refers to a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier development effort,” researchers stated in a detailed report on their findings shared with the AP.

The PLAN’s ability to become a true “blue water” force capable of operating across the world would be realized via a nuclear-powered carrier.

To date, the United States and France remain the only nations around the globe to possess such carriers, which are able to stay out at sea for much longer periods than their electric or diesel-powered counterparts.

As tensions continue to mount between Beijing and Washington, the potential addition of a Chinese nuclear warship should be a top concern.

Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.