New satellite imagery indicates the Type 004 aircraft carrier is rapidly taking shape at Dalian Shipyard, with a more complete bow now visible. Set to be China’s fourth carrier, the ship is widely expected to be the country’s first nuclear-powered carrier, a development that would significantly expand Beijing’s ability to project naval power.
Recent commercial satellite images captured yesterday and shared with the National Gazette show steady construction activity at the Dalian facility in Liaoning province. Work on the vessel has been underway there since at least early 2024.
Type 004 aircraft carrier in context
The carrier is being built in the same dry dock where China completed its first carrier, Liaoning, and constructed its second, Shandong. Liaoning began life in the Soviet Union as a Kuznetsov-class hull, first named Riga and later Varyag, before being sold by Ukraine to Chinese buyers in 1998, towed to Dalian in 2002, and commissioned into People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) service a decade later.
China’s third carrier, Fujian, the country’s first catapult-assisted takeoff but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) design, was built at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. Liaoning and Shandong are short takeoff but arrested recovery (STOBAR) carriers with ski-jump bows and arresting gear.
Based on additional commercial imagery, the Type 004’s hull measures roughly 1,050 feet (320 meters) in length at present, with a beam of about 151 feet (46 meters). As carriers are assembled, hull dimensions typically grow as the structure rises to the flight deck, so the final measurements are expected to increase as construction advances.
Also anticipated to be a CATOBAR carrier, the Type 004 appears set to outsize all three existing PLAN carriers. Fujian, or Type 003, is currently the largest, measuring about 994 feet (303 meters) at the waterline and approximately 1,036.75 feet (316 meters) overall, according to prior open-source analysis.
Its flight deck beam is assessed at just over 249 feet (76 meters). By comparison, the U.S. Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford is 1,106 feet (337 meters) long with a 256-foot (78-meter) flight deck beam.
There is strong, though not yet definitive, evidence the Type 004 will be nuclear-powered. Imagery has shown two distinct structures consistent with reactor containment, broadly resembling features on U.S. nuclear-powered carriers.
Other indicators of Chinese work on naval nuclear propulsion, as well as reports of nuclear powerplant development for future warships and commercial vessels, support this assessment. Officials have not formally confirmed the Type 004’s powerplant.
Naval nuclear propulsion offers effectively unlimited range and expanded electrical generation to support power-hungry systems. Fujian already employs electromagnetic aircraft launch systems (EMALS), a capability likely to carry over to Type 004 and one that would benefit from nuclear power.
These advantages come with added cost and complexity. Separately, China is building what may become the world’s largest dedicated naval replenishment ship, a platform that will be critical for sustaining conventionally powered PLAN carriers and their escorts on extended blue-water deployments.
Nuclear-powered carriers still require frequent resupply of aviation fuel, ordnance, food, and parts, along with support for conventionally powered escorts. Much about the Type 004’s final configuration remains unclear.
What appear to be official renderings and models of future Chinese carriers point to a layout broadly comparable to the U.S. Ford class and other contemporary designs, including a more compact island placed farther aft to maximize flight deck space. China’s full-scale land-based carrier test facility in Wuhan reflects this arrangement.
The broader debate over carrier island placement and the use of EMALS and electromagnetic Advanced Weapons Elevators has also reemerged in the United States amid recent political attention to Ford-class design choices.
Questions also remain about the Type 004’s air wing. The PLAN is expanding its carrier aviation with the stealthy J-35 fighter and the KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft, augmenting the growing J-15 family that now includes an electronic warfare variant.
New drones, including navalized GJ-11 uncrewed combat aerial vehicles and additional helicopters, are also likely candidates for deployment. China has additionally launched a large new big-deck amphibious assault ship, Sichuan, which features a single electromagnetic catapult and is expected to embark a drone-heavy air group.
The pace of construction on Type 004 reflects China’s wider naval shipbuilding capacity, which has produced modern warships and submarines at increasing speed. Reports last year suggested another conventionally powered carrier may also be in the works.
The U.S. Department of Defense has assessed that the PLAN could field a total of nine carriers by 2035. An unclassified Office of Naval Intelligence slide from around 2023 highlights the disparity between U.S. and Chinese naval shipbuilding capacity.
The acceleration of Chinese output has sharpened concerns about U.S. naval shipbuilding, which has struggled with delays and setbacks despite efforts to expand capacity, including through partnerships with foreign yards.
It is unclear when the Type 004 will launch or enter service. What is clear from the latest imagery out of Dalian is that China’s next carrier is steadily taking form.