Is China Getting Ready to Build Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carriers?

Michael Peck

Security, Asia

There is at least some evidence to suggest exactly that.

Could an experimental ship be a prototype for a Chinese nuclear-powered aircraft carrier?

A Chinese company has put out a solicitation to build a nuclear-powered surface ship. While the United States Navy operates nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, China’s only nuclear warships are submarines. But the People’s Liberation Army Navy is reportedly working on nuclear-powered carriers as it builds up its carrier fleet.

China General Nuclear Power Group, or CGN, designs and builds nuclear power plants for the energy sector. But the company is soliciting bids to build a 33,000-ton vessel that is 152 meters (498 feet) long, 30 meters (98 feet) wide and 18 meters (59 feet) deep, according to the South China Morning Post.

“The ship will be able to be fitted with two 25-megawatt compact pressurized water reactors with thermal power output of 200MW [megawatts], which could propel the ship to a maximum speed of 11.5 knots, according to CGN’s project description,” the newspaper said.

One possibility is that the vessel is just a prototype for a nuclear-powered icebreaker. Russia is the only nation to operate such vessels, as part of a massive forty-one-strong fleet of conventional and nuclear icebreakers. Older, Soviet-era nuclear icebreakers, such as the Taymyr, displace a bit over 20,000 tons. But coincidentally or not, the latest Russian Project 22220 icebreakers—the first may launch this summer—displace 33,000 tons like the CGN design.