Chinese media mocks US Navy aircraft crashes; day before, US military officials took jabs at PLA's new Fujian carrier

Chinese media was quick to point out that the country’s naval combat experience and carriers were ‘mocked’ a day before two US aircrafts crashed into the South China Sea.

The media’s tit-for-tat mockery came after everyone realised that two US military officers had  China’s new Fujian aircraft carriers on October 26.

Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, and retired Lt. Cmdr. Keith Stewart, who spoke to the CNN, had examined photographs of the Fujian aircraft carriers. They said that with the Fujian, China may be only able to conduct air operations at about a 60 per cent rate of the 1950’s US Navy Nimitz-class carrier. They pointed out that the deck layout of the vehicles limits simultaneous take-offs and landings.

Schuster said that Fujian’s landing area is longer than that of the Nimitz (One of the US’s largest warships), meaning it extends too close to the bow area where aircraft are positioned for catapult-assisted launching. They said that it affected the aircraft's ability to quickly launch the fighter jets.

China built the Fujian with an electromagnetic catapult aircraft launching system – “which allows aircraft to take off with heavier weapon and fuel loads so they can strike enemy targets from greater distances,” the report said.

They said that even though the country has built an advanced carrier, it knew nothing of actual combat experience. Stewart said the carrier ops are one place China has a lot to learn.

On Monday, a US military helicopter and a fighter Jet went down in separate incidents in the South China Sea while conducting routine operations.

The aircraft, a  F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet and an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, which both took off from the U.S.S Nimitz, went down just half an hour of each other on Sunday afternoon.

The aircraft were part of the US's freedom-of-navigation exercises meant to counter the influence of China in the South China Sea.

The U.S.S. Nimitz is the oldest American aircraft carrier in active service.