The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 948 Light Aircraft Carrier Delivery Training
Since the launch of the West-to-East Gas and West-to-East Oil Transmission Century Project, the route has now been determined.

One is the western route, which transports natural gas and oil from the five Central Asian countries to the Western Regions Province through natural gas pipelines and oil pipelines, connects to the natural gas pipeline of China's own West-East Gas Transmission Project and the oil pipeline of the West-East Oil Transmission Plant, and transports them to various provinces and cities through natural gas pipelines and oil pipelines.

One is the northern route, which transports gas from the territory of the Arctic Bear to Heilongjiang Province, and then transports it to the south along the natural gas pipeline of the "North Gas to South Transmission" project and the oil pipeline of the "North Oil to South Transmission" project.

The northern route natural gas pipeline includes the Power of Siberia pipeline in the Arctic and the natural gas pipeline in China. The total length of the pipeline in the Arctic is about 3000 kilometers, and the pipeline in China is 3371 kilometers.

The northern route of the oil pipeline is the "An-Da line", which starts from the Angarsk oil field in Irkutsk Oblast in the west, goes south into Buryatia, then bypasses Lake Baikal, passes through Chita Oblast in the east, and finally reaches Daqing. This project was finally completed with an investment of US$25 billion by China National Petroleum Corporation.

The West Line and the North Line will become important channels for China to import oil and natural gas.

This also makes the two sides cooperate more closely because it is complementary and a win-win cooperation.

Like the five Stan countries in Central Asia, polar bears have extremely strong influence, and this influence will last for at least 20 to 30 years.

It will not be an overnight task to win over the five Stan countries in Central Asia.

In March, after attending the two sessions, Liu Tao went to Yangcheng Shipyard.

The first Type 001 light aircraft carrier will be handed over to the navy for training today and then delivered to the Thai Navy before the Spring Festival.

The Type 001 light aircraft carrier, which has been fully built, has a full load displacement of more than 2 tons, which is much larger than the Type 052 destroyer.

The Navy started preparing for the Type 001 light aircraft carrier several years in advance.

When Liu Tao saw it, the ship was fully staffed with 1051 people, including 685 crew members and 366 aviation personnel, and was equipped with 15 "Sea Hawk" carrier-based aircraft and 9 "Ray Eagle" helicopters.

The captain of this Type 001 light aircraft carrier is Zhang Zhaozhong, who was the captain of the first Type 054 frigate and later served as the captain of the Type 052 destroyer. He has served as the commander of the Persian Gulf escort formation and the commander of the Gulf of Aden formation, and has very rich qualifications.

He is also a military theorist, and his research covers a wide range of disciplines, including science and technology, weapons and equipment, joint operations, military strategy, national defense construction, and international laws and regulations.

In the research on naval equipment and aircraft carriers, he is a leader in China's military field.

This year, Zhang Zhaozhong is 45 years old and is in the prime of his life.

"Leader, when can our navy use medium or large aircraft carriers?" Zhang Zhaozhong took out a cigarette and handed it to Liu Tao, flattering him with anticipation in his eyes.

He has always believed that for a big country like China, it is necessary to develop aircraft carriers, and at least develop medium-sized aircraft carriers, preferably large aircraft carriers.

After all, the combat effectiveness of an aircraft carrier is determined by its carrier-based aircraft. The more advanced the performance of the carrier-based aircraft and the greater the number of carrier-based aircraft, the stronger the power of the aircraft carrier.

When he studied the development of aircraft carriers in the United States and the Soviet Union, he came to the conclusion that major powers should move towards large aircraft carriers.

When he was conducting research, he put forward a point of view that China has a long coastline and needs at least 6 aircraft carriers in the near term and at least 12 aircraft carriers in the long term to safeguard China's maritime rights and interests.

The Type 001 light aircraft carrier is certainly good. After all, having an aircraft carrier is better than having no aircraft carrier. However, the Type 001 light aircraft carrier is still too small after all. Its full load displacement is only 20600 tons. It is only a light aircraft carrier and has only 24 carrier-based aircraft. Among them, the "Sea Eagle" carrier-based aircraft has a short range and the performance is only that of a second-generation and a half fighter.

Whether the Chinese Navy can use medium-sized or even large aircraft carriers, it is unrealistic to rely on other shipyards, so we have to rely on Yangcheng Shipyard.

To be precise, we have to rely on Liu Tao.

Liu Tao declined Zhang Zhaozhong's offer and smiled, "It's almost done! Once this aircraft carrier is completed, we will start building a new aircraft carrier." Zhang Zhaozhong's eyes lit up, "Leader, can you tell me in advance whether it is a medium-sized aircraft carrier or a large aircraft carrier?"

Zhang Zhaozhong's eyes were full of anticipation.

"We have to take it step by step. How can we go from a light aircraft carrier to a large aircraft carrier all at once?" Liu Tao smiled and said, "The Type 002 aircraft carrier is a medium-sized aircraft carrier!"

Zhang Zhaozhong was not disappointed either, he smiled and said, a medium-sized aircraft carrier is always better than a light aircraft carrier!
The reason why Liu Tao came to Yangcheng Shipyard this time, in addition to the fact that the first Type 001 light aircraft carrier was handed over to the navy for training, was also important, which was to develop a medium-sized aircraft carrier.

This year, the defense budget exceeded 100 billion for the first time, which has given the military a lot more flexibility than before and given it greater ambitions.

We already have light aircraft carriers, so the next step is naturally to look forward to medium-sized and even large aircraft carriers.

Moreover, China's development, in order to safeguard its own rights and interests and to defend against enemies thousands of miles away, does require medium-sized or even large aircraft carriers.

This important task fell on Liu Tao.

Liu Tao is not opposed to building a larger aircraft carrier, because a larger aircraft carrier is indeed needed to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

Moreover, after accumulating experience in the construction of light aircraft carriers, China now has the ability to build medium-sized and even large aircraft carriers.

The necessary industrial chains have been built.

In fact, all the necessary skills have been accumulated.

However, in order to be more stable, Liu Tao chose a medium-sized aircraft carrier instead of jumping all at once to a large aircraft carrier.

"Work hard, I believe in you!" Liu Tao patted Zhang Zhaozhong on the shoulder.

About half an hour later, the Type 001 light aircraft carrier officially left the dock and headed for Zhanjiang Port.

At present, large docks have been built in various military ports in the south, including Zhanjiang Port, the home port of the South China Sea Fleet, for the Type 001 light aircraft carrier to dock.

Next, the Type 001 light aircraft carrier will be handed over to the South China Sea Fleet for about a year and will be delivered to the Thai Navy around the Spring Festival. If there are special circumstances, it can be delayed to 1.

The navy uses this light aircraft carrier for training, while the Thai navy's carrier-based aircraft pilots will begin training on the "Test" aircraft carrier, and the crew will receive professional training in China.

At present, Thailand’s military strength is quite powerful, and it can be called the little overlord of Southeast Asia. Its military strength is much higher than that of Annan.

At least on paper, Thailand's army, navy and air force are all superior to Annan's.

Moreover, after more than a decade of rapid development, Thailand's economy has maintained a double-digit growth rate for more than 15 years. In some years, the economic growth has even reached 20% or even 30%. It is the leader of the four Asian tigers and has continuously clamored to replace South Korea and become one of the four Asian dragons. It believes that South Korea is unworthy of the name of the four Asian dragons and is a shame to the four Asian dragons.

In recent years, driven by some forces behind the scenes, Thailand has gradually taken the lead in ASEAN, and its international status has been greatly improved compared with a decade ago.

Moreover, there are no US military bases in Thailand now, which greatly enhances Thailand's autonomy.

Now the only military base the United States has in Southeast Asia is Singapore. However, Singapore’s development is becoming increasingly weak, and it is gradually unwilling to sign a military base lease treaty with the United States.

(End of this chapter)