# China Wants Aircraft Carriers-How Long To Develop Naval Air Arm? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220 "2010-12-23T20:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220/141 "2018-05-14T16:00:27Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’ve wondered - do these ski-jump carriers have catapults? If not, why don’t their aircraft need that boost in propulsion to get off the deck the way American carrier jets do? No catapults. They don’t “need that boost” because they are generally smaller and lighter (and lighter-armed/equipped) aircraft. I remember when some Chinese media complained that the J-15 was a “flopping fish” because it couldn’t be loaded up with a full load of fuel and weapons and get off the deck of the carrier. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220/142 "2018-05-14T16:03:16Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > No catapults. They don’t “need that boost” because they are smaller and lighter, and lighter-armed/equipped aircraft. ? The Su-33 weighs 40,000+ pounds and it uses ski-jump with no catapult, and the Super Hornet weighs 33,000+ pounds and has to use catapults. (That was just a quick Google search, so maybe not very accurate data, but the Chinese jets aboard these carriers don’t seem any lighter than their American counterparts) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220/143 "2018-05-14T16:04:31Z")
Edit: OK, I see about the fuel, but even then the fuel and weapons load added in, even half-so, seems that it would not make a jet like the Su-33 any significantly lighter than American carrier jets. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220/144 "2018-05-14T16:26:55Z")
I don’t have any particular naval air expertise, so it’s entirely possible I’m wrong. From [STOBAR - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOBAR#Limitations) > [@](#): > > One major limitation of STOBAR configuration is that it only works with fighter aircraft that have a high thrust to weight ratio such as Su-33 or MiG-29K and thus limits the kind of aircraft that can be operated from the carrier. It is not known what restrictions ski-jump takeoff implies on maximal aircraft weight. According to some sources, in order to become airborne, the aircraft may be required to limit its weaponry and fuel package in order to reduce the launch weight of the aircraft. However according to other sources Super Hornet can take-off from a ski-jump with a significant weapons load. That bit - “the aircraft may be required to limit its weaponry and fuel package in order to reduce the launch weight of the aircraft” - was pretty much the exact criticism of the J-15, IIRC. Just looking at the F-35, the C variant carries more fuel and weapons than the B variant ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220/145 "2018-05-14T17:07:28Z")
Oh OK I see. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220/146 "2018-05-14T17:24:20Z")
British Royal Navy carriers have long used ski-jumps, too: > **[HMS Hermes (R12)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hermes_(R12))** > > HMS Hermes was a conventional British aircraft carrier and the last of the Centaur class. > Hermes was in service with the Royal Navy from 1959 until 1984, and she served as the flagship of the British forces during the 1982 Falklands War. > After being sold to India in 1986, the vessel was recommissioned and remained in service with the Indian Navy as INS Viraat until 2017. > **[HMS Invincible (R05)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Invincible_(R05))** > > HMS Invincible was the Royal Navy's lead ship of her class of three light aircraft carriers. She was launched on 3 May 1977 as the seventh ship to carry the name. She was originally designated as an anti-submarine warfare carrier, but was used as an aircraft carrier during the Falklands War, when she was deployed with HMS Hermes. She took over as flagship of the British fleet when Hermes was sold to India. Invincible was also deployed in the Yugoslav Wars and the Iraq War. In 2005, she was dec... > **[Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth-class_aircraft_carrier)** > > The Queen Elizabeth class is a class of two aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy which are the central components of the UK Carrier Strike Group. The lead ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, was named on 4 July 2014, in honour of Elizabeth I. She was commissioned on 7 December 2017. The second, HMS Prince of Wales, was launched on 21 December 2017, and was commissioned on 10 December 2019. > The contract for the vessels was announced in July 2007, ending several years of delay over cos... ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220/147 "2025-11-07T14:08:51Z")
Bumped. > **[China’s latest aircraft carrier enters fleet as naval competition with the US...](https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/china/china-fujian-aircraft-carrier-xi-jinping-intl-hnk)** > > China’s latest and most capable aircraft carrier has officially entered service, a significant step forward for Beijing as it seeks to catch up with the United States on naval supremacy. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220/148 "2025-11-07T15:10:32Z")
UAVs aren’t a threat to Naval vessels? My-my-my. Ukraine would like a word with you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-wants-aircraft-carriers-how-long-to-develop-naval-air-arm/565220.md?page=7)