China is rapidly closing the military technology gap with the US across all fields, from fifth-generation stealth aircraft to large 100,000-ton aircraft carriers featuring an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS).
However, there is one crucial technological hurdle that the US crossed more than six decades ago, but Beijing is still working to master.
In fact, this is the same technological barrier that the Soviet Union, the US’s Cold War adversary, could not overcome despite beating Washington in the space race on multiple occasions.
Yes, we are talking about nuclear propulsion in aircraft carriers, a niche technology that only two countries have so far mastered: the US and France.
However, Beijing is advancing work on its fourth aircraft carrier, the Type 004, which the latest images strongly suggest would be a nuclear-powered flattop.
Leaked Images Show Work On China’s Nuclear-Powered Carrier
Imagery of the new carrier, posted by China military watchers, shows work progressing on China’s fourth aircraft carrier at the Dalian shipyard in China’s Liaoning province.
In the images, a reactor containment structure, which would be a key indicator of its propulsion system, is clearly visible.
The structure looks broadly similar to that found on US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, such as the Ford-class flattops.
“Broadly similar appearance to USN CVN reactor shielding configurations within their hulls. Physics works the same and all that. There could still be a curveball, but this is tracking with rumours that DL (Dalian shipyard) is doing the first CVN,” China military watcher Rick Joe posted on X.
Notably, this is not the first time images have appeared showing work on what many military analysts believe is China’s nuclear-powered carrier.
In November last year, images appeared that appeared to show a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship.
The project at Leshan is known as ‘the Longwei’ or ‘Dragon Might’ Project. Official documents also referred to it as ‘the Nuclear Power Development’ Project.
The project’s ‘national defense designation,’ classified as ‘secret,’ further reinforced the conclusion that this reactor is a prototype for a next-generation aircraft carrier.
Again in March this year, satellite images appeared showing work on China’s fourth aircraft carrier at the Dalian shipyard. These images also appear to show that the Type 004 would be a nuclear-powered carrier.
Furthermore, the images suggested that the aircraft carrier under construction at the Dalian shipyard will allow fighter jets to be launched from four parts of the flight deck.
The US Navy’s 11 supercarriers can launch aircraft from four places. So far, the three Chinese aircraft carriers can launch jets only from three areas: the front, the center, and the deck.
It should be noted that China has never officially acknowledged developing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. However, evidence is mounting that the Type 004 would feature nuclear propulsion of the kind seen in the US Navy’s latest Ford-class carriers.
The latest images come just days after China officially commissioned its third aircraft carrier, Fujian. Notably, Fujian is the world’s second aircraft carrier to feature the highly complex electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), after the US’ Gerald Ford-class ships.
The revolutionary EMALS technology enables the PLAN to launch heavier, larger fixed-wing aircraft, such as the J-15T, the fifth-generation J-35, and even the carrier-based KJ-600 early warning and control aircraft, with more fuel and weapons loads.
Indeed, China passed a key technological hurdle by mastering the complex EMALS technology, which even the US is not entirely comfortable with.
Last month, speaking to US sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington at the US Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan, President Donald Trump said he plans to sign an executive order that would compel the U.S. Navy to use steam-powered catapults and hydraulic elevators on new aircraft carriers.
Speaking on the Nimitz-class carrier USS George Washington on October 28, Trump said, “I’m putting out an order, I’m going to sign an executive order, when we build aircraft carriers, it’s steam for the catapults and it’s hydraulic for the elevators. Do you agree? Everybody agrees.”
Criticising the EMALS, the President said that the technology is expensive, unreliable, and difficult to repair.
“They’re spending billions of dollars to build stupid electric. And the problem, when it breaks, you have to send up to MIT, get the most brilliant people in the world, fly them out. The steam, they said they can fix it with a hammer and blowtorch. And it works just as well, if not better.”
However, there is one critical technological frontier where China is still lagging behind the US: Beijing has no nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, whereas the US has 11, and even France has one.
Nuclear-Powered Carriers Around The World
If the Type 004 is indeed a nuclear-powered carrier and Beijing successfully develops it, this move would place China among the elite naval powers operating nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, currently held only by the United States and France.
The US Navy, with its 11 nuclear-powered carriers, has unmatched global reach, enabling it to maintain multiple strike groups deployed globally, including in the Indo-Pacific.
In 2017, the US Navy operated 81 nuclear-powered vessels, including 11 aircraft carriers and 70 submarines (18 SSBN/SSGN and 52 SSN), all powered by 92 reactors.
The French Navy’s Charles de Gaulle (CDG) remains the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the US Navy’s fleet.
All of the US Navy’s Nimitz-class and Ford-class carriers, currently 11 in active operations, are nuclear-powered.
In fact, the US commissioned its first nuclear-powered carrier, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), way back in 1961.
Since then, all US Navy carriers have been nuclear-powered. So, what advantages do they offer?
The Many Advantages Of Nuclear-Powered Carriers
Nuclear propulsion technology on aircraft carriers is not only highly complex and challenging to master but also insanely expensive.
Building a nuclear-powered carrier will cost an additional USD 3-4 billion. The cost for the U.S. Navy’s latest carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is approximately US$13 billion.
So, the question is: what distinct advantages do they offer that justify this huge upfront cost?
The biggest advantage of nuclear propulsion is that it gives the carrier an almost unlimited range.
A nuclear carrier can steam at high speed for years without refueling. A nuclear-powered carrier’s range is limited only by crew food, aircraft fuel, and munitions.
For instance, the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) sailed over 1 million nautical miles on its original fuel load before its first refueling in 1997.
Similarly, the USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Long Beach (CGN 9), and USS Bainbridge (CGN 25) left the Mediterranean on July 31, 1964, for a 65-day, 30,000-mile circumnavigation of the world, conducted entirely without refueling or logistics support.
More recently, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed around-the-world deployments in support of national tasking. In 2021, USS Nimitz (CVN 68) completed a 321-day deployment with no port calls.
This unlimited range gives nuclear-powered carriers truly global reach.
Moreover, the compact, energy-dense nature of a nuclear propulsion plant eliminates the need for large-volume tankage for propulsion fuel and reduces the space devoted to combustion air and exhaust.
This increases storage capacity for combat consumables (weapons, aircraft fuel, stores), improving sustainability and reducing underway replenishment requirements.
Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs) can transit to the scene at sustained high speed (without the logistics support that would be needed for a fossil-fueled aircraft carrier) and arrive fully ready to launch the formidable firepower of the air wing.
On the other hand, conventional carriers must refuel every few days at high speed or every 2–3 weeks at cruising speed, forcing frequent logistics stops or underway replenishment.
Additionally, the fleet oilers that accompany a conventional carrier battle group are among the most vulnerable and high-value targets. Nuclear carriers eliminate the need for the carrier itself to take on fuel, dramatically reducing the number of underway replenishments and the exposure of logistics ships.
Nuclear carriers can be deployed globally without worrying about forward fuel depots or host-nation restrictions on bunker fuel.
Furthermore, nuclear carriers can generate much more power, which can be crucial for new-age weapons systems such as Directed-Energy Weapons (DEWs) and Railguns, which need a very high amount of energy.
Bottom line is that nuclear power gives a carrier true “go anywhere, stay as long as you want, and fight as hard as you want” capability that no conventional propulsion plant can match.
However, it remains to be seen whether China can close the technological gap with the US in this crucial area as well.
