The fourth aircraft carrier that China is currently building is speculated to be a nuclear-powered one.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) currently has three aircraft carriers—Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian—all of which are conventionally powered. While China has not officially confirmed or denied that a new carrier is being built, a latest video released by PLAN has sparked speculations that its fourth aircraft carrier will be a nuclear-powered one.
Currently, only two countries—the United States and France—have nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
The video film 'Into The Deep' was released on Wednesday to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the PLAN.
The video depicted a compass being passed down across generations of naval officers. But what really grabbed attention were the names of these officers— Liao Ning, Shan Dong, and Fu Jian, named after the three aircraft carriers that are currently operational.
And there was a fourth character named 'He Jian'. According to a report in South China Morning Post, the name is possibly suggesting that the fourth aircraft carrier will be a nuclear-powered one, as 'He' sounds like the Chinese word for 'nuclear' and 'Jian' is the word for a 'ship'.
What gives more credence to the speculation is the fact that the three aircraft carriers are named after Chinese provinces, but there is no province named 'Hejian' in the country.
While China remains tight-lipped about the aircraft carrier being built, satellite images taken over the past few years indicate that a large vessel is under construction at a shipyard in Dalian. The images suggest the ship is of a similar size to America's nuclear-powered Gerald R. Ford-class carriers, fuelling speculations that the ship will have a similar propulsion method.
According to SCMP, the photos of the ship being built also showed structures that looked like nuclear reactor containment vessels.
