China Defense Blog reports that China is has begun the process to design and build a nuclear powered icebreaker, as a prelude to building a nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
The post includes a quotation that is wrong on a couple of counts.
“The US and former Soviet Union used their experience with nuclear-powered icebreaker ships to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, he noted.”
The US, of course, never built a nuclear icebreaker, and the Soviet Union never built a nuclear carrier. The Soviets did build some very large cruisers with a hybrid nuclear and conventional steam powerplants, but those were their only nuclear powered surface warships. Both nations built nuclear submarines before building nuclear surface warships. China has also already built several classes of nuclear submarines
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
I hope their better in Making Icebreakers, then they are in making Aircraft Carriers…
They did do a better job on their Kuznetsov class carrier than the Russians did with theirs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuznetsov-class_aircraft_carrier They are learning fast.
If you look below the Waterline, the Chinese Aircraft Carriers use “Azipods” for propulsion instead of a Conventional Shaft Screw Propulsion. It’s been giving the PLAN nothing but Headaches trying to get them work right…
Secundius, any source for that? All other sources claim both Liaoning and Type 001A use conventional shaft lines and steam turbine propulsion. The French Mistral-class amphibs use Mermaid thrusters, but they only carry helicopters.
As I recall the Australian/Spanish design uses a Single “Mermaid”, not the French Design…
@ Tups.
https : // www . globalsecurity . org / military / china / images / cvn-3 – images03 . jpg
Sorry, autocorrect keep trying to Autocorrect website address as be that of a Sentence and not that of being a Website Address. I hope this one won’t be Autocorrected and passes through the Filters…
That’s a concept, not an existing ship.
I doubt ABB would sell Azipods to PLAN.
IF it isn’t ex-Soviet in design, then everything else that the PRC builds from is a “Concept”…
It is an artist’s impression of what a possible Chinese aircraft carrier could look like. I’m not sure if the design even originated from China or from some military fanboy online forum.
However, the Chinese are quite productive, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Chinese CVN under construction within the next decade. However, as they said themselves, I’d expect them to “practice” with a nuclear-powered icebreaker first.
As for the Type 001A, I’d expect it to be very similar to the Russian design but with Chinese components (whereas the first one is Russian with Russian components).
So is the “Ticonderoga” class Cruiser replacement that can be found on “Shipbucket”, scheduled to be built from 2032 to 2040 of the Flight IV “Areligh Burke” Destroyers. That was announced in 9 January 2018 on “Defense News” (i.e. Military Times).
( https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/surface-navy-association/2018/01/09/surface-warfare-director-cruiser-replacement-wont-be-a-cruiser/ ) …
The Navy does not know what the Cruiser replacement will look like, but will almost certainly be bigger to accommodate a very large version of the SPY-6 radar. HII want to build one based on the LPD hull, but I’m sure we will wee a design competition before a selection.
Ahhh, try ( https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/surface-navy-association/2018/01/09/surface-warfare-director-cruiser-replacement-wont-be-a-cruiser/ ) …
@Secundius. re: “So is the “Ticonderoga” class Cruiser replacement that can be found on “Shipbucket”, scheduled to be built from 2032 to 2040 of the Flight IV “Areligh Burke” Destroyers. That was announced in 9 January 2018 on “Defense News” (i.e. Military Times)”
Navy does not publish future designs on shipbucket. Nothing is certain that far out.
We are getting way off topic.
It was a 2007 Concept Drawing of a AB of 10,000-ton with a 155 Mk.65 Main Gun. Unfortunately because it was “Drafted” in 2007, the Website Address won’t work because the website only stay active for ~7-years. After that Nothing. I stumbled onto it by accident, because it was reposted by “Pinerest” under “Images” of Arleigh Burke’s. And there were a “$hiteload” of images to go through…
There was a concept for a cruiser replacement earlier, but that program was cancelled. What ever comes next will be well over 10,000 tons, because the Burkes are already there.
Flight IV AB’s were cancelled in April 2014, and Funds were redirected to Fund replacements for “Ohio” class SSBN’s, “Columbia” class. were suppose to be 21 ships in class. ( http://www.seaforces.org/usnships/ddg/Arleigh-Burke-class.htm ) 26th paragraph down…
Chuck – Maybe you should start a post to talk about the USN? – So much of their technology and war-fighting ability comes up because it is the primary route for USCG weapons. In addition, USN’s capabilities directly apply to CG, if there’s any peace-time or especially wartime interoperability. A separate post would keep other posts on-topic.
I did in 2013, but unfortunately for Party Politics of the Time. It got Redacted…
China’s new polar research vessel is progressing: the main hull is now complete.
Here’s a fresh heavy polar icebreaker design developed in China, not entirely unlike the PSC in size and general configuration:
https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/china-reveals-details-newly-designed-heavy-icebreaker
I’d take the stated icebreaking capability with a grain of salt, though.