For the first time, a group of U.S. researchers has concluded that China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor to power future aircraft carriers.
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In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, conventionally powered Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning carries out a dual aircraft carrier formation exercise with the Shandong aircraft carrier, unseen, for the first time in the South China Sea in late October 2024. This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Nuclear Power Institute of China's Site No. 1, also known as Base 909, in Mucheng Township, Sichuan Province, China, July 5, 2023. – China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship, in the clearest sign yet Beijing is advancing toward producing its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery and Chinese government documents provided to The Associated Press.
There have long been rumors that China is planning to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, but the research by the Middlebury team is the first to confirm that China is working on a nuclear-powered propulsion system for a carrier-sized surface warship. Documents indicating that China’s 701 Institute, formally known as China Ship Research and Design Center, which is responsible for aircraft carrier development, procured reactor equipment “intended for installation on a large surface warship” under the Nuclear Power Development Project as well as the project’s “national defense designation” helped lead to the conclusion the sizable reactor is a prototype for a next-generation aircraft carrier.
Jamie Withorne, an analyst at the Oslo Nuclear Project who was not involved in the research and reviewed the findings, said Middlebury's team made a “convincing argument.” “Given the evidence presented here, I see a compelling case made that China seems to be working towards building a nuclear propulsion system for its naval surface ships at this location,” said Laderman, who is based in Vienna and was not involved in Middlebury’s research.China’s first carrier, commissioned in 2012, was a repurposed Soviet ship, and its second was built in China but based upon the Soviet design.
Matthew Funaiole, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ China Power Project, said he doubts China's next carrier will be nuclear-powered. Instead, he said, he would expect the People's Liberation Army Navy's fourth carrier to focus on optimizing the existing design of the Fujian carrier with “incremental improvements.”
It takes several years to build a carrier and bring it into operation, but developing nuclear propulsion for its next generation of warships would eventually give China more power to run advanced systems, such as electromagnetic launchers, radars and new technology weapons, Childs said. The First Island Chain includes the self-governed island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own and vows to annex it by force if necessary.
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