Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

November 12, 2004.

In the dry dock of Laiyang Group Shipyard, banners fluttered and colorful flags danced in the air. Navy leader Zhang stood on a platform, his face beaming with excitement: "Now, the first ship of the Type 002 aircraft carrier, No. 17, has been officially launched! The launch of this warship signifies that our navy's modernization has entered a new era!"

Through an archway formed by two fire hoses, the massive warship was slowly towed out of the dock and, under the expectant gazes of everyone, was pulled toward the outfitting pier.

At the outfitting dock, everyone eagerly stepped onto the deck. This enormous deck was truly magnificent! It has the largest area in the world and can operate more than fifty carrier-based aircraft at the same time. In extreme cases, it can even launch seventy or eighty carrier-based aircraft, which is more powerful than the air force of many countries.

The fact that two of these warships were started at once is enough to demonstrate the navy's emphasis on this type of aircraft carrier and its desire to enhance its own strength!

"Although we pre-installed some internal equipment during the dock phase, an aircraft carrier is a huge project after all. This outfitting work will take at least... Lao Ma, how much longer do you think it will take?"

Makarov's face was flushed. Back when he was with Russia, he thought he would never see an aircraft carrier again. Now, not only could they build aircraft carriers, but they were also 100,000-ton nuclear-powered carriers with electromagnetic catapults. These things were perfect for the Russians, as they wouldn't have to worry about deck icing in cold regions. However... only the East could build such carriers. After all, building an aircraft carrier required a powerful nation!

"It will take another six months!"

Six months? The navy thought it would take a year. They hadn't even started, and they could finish in six months? Leader Zhang's face was full of excitement: "Really? That's great news! Next, we'll speed up the outfitting..."

As they were talking, the cranes started working, and various materials were transported up and then moved to their respective locations via elevators. The outfitting work proceeded in an orderly manner.

"By the way, what about the nuclear reactor? When will it be installed?"

“It’s already installed during the hull welding process, which greatly speeds up the construction,” Makarov said.

There are many opinions about when to install the nuclear reactor. Many ships cut a large hole in the deck after launching and then install the main engine. After all, there is stress release when launching, and it may not be appropriate to install it in advance. However, Laiyang Group had already calculated the effect of stress release and made provisions in advance for early installation, which greatly saved time.

"What about the fuel rods?"

"The fuel rods were already inserted."

Many laypeople say that installing the nuclear reactor and inserting the nuclear fuel rods are separate processes. In reality, if they can be done together, then of course they should be done together.

"Our nuclear reactor uses highly enriched uranium and has a lifespan of thirty years. This means that we don't need to change the nuclear fuel for the entire lifespan of the aircraft carrier. Once it's installed, it's practically a lifespan for us," Makarov continued.

For civilian power plants, uranium enrichment of 3% to 5% is sufficient. They don't care how poor the fuel is, as long as a chain reaction can occur. However, for nuclear reactors used on warships, the longer the lifespan, the better. After all, replacing nuclear fuel is almost equivalent to a major overhaul. Generally, nuclear fuel with an enrichment level of 40% to 50% is used. This one-time refueling can last for ten years or so. When the nuclear fuel is depleted, the warship enters dry dock for a simultaneous major overhaul. This is a complex process. Just replacing the nuclear fuel alone can take one or two years. So, although the Americans have ten aircraft carriers, in reality, there are always several that are undergoing major overhauls.

From this perspective, conventionally powered aircraft carriers might be more suitable.

Another approach is to increase the enrichment level of nuclear fuel. Nuclear submarines are no exception; after using weapons-grade uranium, they can almost all have the same lifespan.

The East already possesses these technologies!

"This island superstructure is truly beautiful, simple, and elegant!" The naval leaders' gazes turned to the island superstructure once again.

American aircraft carriers have messy islands with various radar equipment stuck on the masts like clothes racks, while Eastern aircraft carriers have no old-fashioned masts on their islands, and all radars are now arranged in planar arrays!

The reserved space for those four large phased array antennas is enviable; the East has already made phased array radars incredibly affordable!

"Yes, most of them were transplanted from the Type 055. By the way, shouldn't our Type 055s also go out to sea for some operations? Don't always stay cooped up at home."

"That's natural. The first Type 055 destroyer, No. 101, has already sailed to the vicinity of Australia," said Leader Zhang. "Australia has been acting strangely lately, causing trouble again, so we sent warships there for freedom of navigation."

"Yes, it should have been done a long time ago. We need to communicate with them in a way that they are familiar with. Protesting a thousand times is not as effective as sending a warship over once."

"Yes!"

Australia, living on a separate continent, has always considered itself very safe. So, they followed the Americans around, causing trouble everywhere. This time, when they saw the Type 055 destroyer, along with the Type 052C destroyer and a replenishment ship, appear in their offshore waters, they were stunned.

How could people from the East do this? They're bullying us!

Although they thought this in their hearts, they couldn't say it out loud. They could only announce to the outside world that the voyage to the East was legal and that they would guarantee to monitor it at all times!

Surveillance? When the Type 055 destroyer is running at full speed, the most advanced of their corvettes is the new Legion-class corvette, which is an improvement on the German MKEO-class corvette. Its maximum speed is only 27 knots. As long as the Type 055 needs to accelerate at full speed, it can quickly leave them behind!

Boom, boom, boom! The 130mm naval gun at the bow began firing. Although it wasn't a missile, just a naval gun, it was still 130mm in caliber. If it were to attack land, just five minutes of firing would be enough to reduce a major coastal city to rubble! Not to mention that there were more than a hundred launch cells on the Type 055 destroyer.

Australia trembled under the weight of the Type 055 destroyer. They knew a new era had dawned, and the East had become a maritime superpower. They'd better not cause the East any trouble in the future! As for iron ore… they'd better stick to the previous agreement!

You don't need a sledgehammer to crack a nut. To deal with a weak country like Australia, all you need to do is send a Type 055 destroyer over. Since Westerners only understand this language, then we'll communicate with them in this language!

Having left the waters of Australia, the Type 055 flotilla continued eastward. That traditional maritime power will have to think twice before trying to cause us trouble in the future!