China’s highly anticipated new carrier is seen fully decorated with its dry dock filled for its debut in new satellite imagery.

在新的卫星图像中，中国备受期待的新航母被充分装饰，且干船坞已经注水，以迎接首次亮相。

The highly anticipated launch of China's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier to date, presently known as the Type 003, looks set to happen in the very near future according to satellite imagery that The War Zone has obtained from Planet Labs.

根据War Zone从Planet Lab获得的卫星图像，中国最新和最先进的航空母舰——目前被称为003型——备受期待的下水，看起来将在不久的将来发生。

The image in question was taken at 7:21 AM Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on June 14, or 3:21 PM local time in Shanghai. At the time of publishing, it is the morning of June 15 in that city.

这张照片拍摄于6月14日协调世界时上午7:21，也就是上海当地时间下午3:21。本文发稿时，正是该市6月15日上午。

The shot shows the Type 003 carrier, which is still undergoing the final phases of its construction in Shanghai, in a now flooded dry dock. Decorations on the catapults, along with flags hung over its island and down its side, as well as those along the perimeter of the flight deck, are plainly visible. This is all well in line with what has been observed at previous launches of Chinese aircraft carriers and other major warships.

这张照片显示的是003型航母，它仍然在上海进行最后阶段的建造，现在位于一个已注水的干船坞。弹射器上的装饰，以及悬挂在舰岛上方和侧翼的旗帜，以及飞行甲板周边的旗帜，都清晰可见。这与以往中国航母等主要军舰下水的情况相吻合。

The exact date for the launch of the Type 003, construction of which began at Jiangnan Shipyard in the mid-2010s, has recently been the topic of great speculation. Experts and observers had posited that this event might have been set to occur just over two weeks ago after Shanghai's Maritime Safety Administration publicly announced that five commercial ships at Jiangnan would be moved out of the same general area of the shipyard where the carrier is being built.This would have meant the launch would have coincided with Shanghai's Dragon Boat Festival.

003型在2010年代中期开始在江南造船厂建造，其下水的确切日期，最近一直是个广受猜测的话题。就在两周前，上海海事局曾公开宣布，将把江南造船厂的五艘商船搬离建造这艘航母的造船厂。此前，专家和观察人士曾猜测，这一事件在超过两周前可能就发生了。这就意味着这次下水将与上海的龙舟节相重合。

The Type 003 carrier is a key centerpiece of the Chinese government's efforts to not only expand and improve its overall military capabilities, but also its ability to project that power further beyond the country's borders. The ship has an advanced catapult-assisted take-off barrier arrested recovery (CATOBAR) design that is fundamentally different from that of the PLA Navy's (PLAN) two existing carriers.

003型航母不仅是中国扩大和提高整体军事能力的努力的核心，也是中国进一步向境外投射实力的能力的关键。该舰采用了先进的弹射器辅助起飞拦阻回收设计，从根本上不同于中国海军现有的两艘航母。

The PLAN's Type 001 Liaoning began life as a Soviet Kuznetsov class ship, the Varyag, which was never completed, while the Type 002 Shandong is a local derivative of that design. Both are short take-off, barrier-arrested recovery (STOBAR) types that feature "ski jump" forward flight decks instead of catapults for launching aircraft. Catapults drastically increase the payloads of aircraft that can fly off the deck and it also unlocks new carrier-capable aircraft design possibilities, among many other benefits.

中国海军001型辽宁舰的生涯，是作为苏联库兹涅佐夫级瓦良格号开始的，瓦良格号并未完成，而002型山东舰是该设计的本土衍生版。两舰都是短距起飞拦截回收型航母，具有“滑跃”前飞行甲板，而不是采用用于发射飞机的弹射器。弹射器大大增加了飞机从甲板上起飞的有效载荷，它还开启了新的舰载机设计可能性，还有许多其他好处。
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Beyond simply using catapults, the Type 003 has been widely reported to feature an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) rather than a more traditional steam-powered arrangement. As already noted, the ship's three catapults can be seen prominently decorated in today's satellite imagery, underscoring their particular significance.

除了简单地使用弹射器之外，003型的一种特征得到广泛报道，它采用了电磁弹射系统，而不是更传统的蒸汽动力装置。如前所述，在今天的卫星图像中，可以明显看到舰上的三个弹射器，突出了它们的特殊意义。

To date, the U.S. Navy's Ford class is the only other type of carrier in the world to feature an EMALS, which, at least in principle, offers various benefits, including faster sortie generation rates and the ability to fine-tune the amount of force used to launch an aircraft. An EMALS has the potential to help reduce general wear and tear on aircraft being thrown off the deck by using only the force necessary to get them airborne and also expands the range of types that can readily make use of the system. This could include designs that are much smaller and lighter than traditional carrier aircraft, such as smaller drones and unmanned combat air vehicles.

到目前为止，美国海军的福特级是全世界上采用EMALS的唯一的另一款航母，这种装置至少在原则上具备各种好处，包括更快的出动频率和微调发射飞机所需的力量。EMALS可能通过仅使用必要的力让飞机升空，从而减少飞机飞离甲板时造成的一般磨损，还可以扩展范围，让更多型号的飞机能迅速使用这种系统。可能包括比传统舰载机更小、更轻的型号，比如更小的无人机和无人驾驶战斗飞行器。

The Type 003 will almost certainly carry a fundamentally new air wing, compared to those found on the Liaoning and Shandong, as well. As work on the new carrier has progressed, China's state-run aviation industry has also been working on new and advanced carrier-capable aircraft including a navalized version of the F-35-esque FC-31/J-35 stealth fighter jet and the KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft, a rough analog to the U.S. Navy's E-2 Hawkeye.

与辽宁舰和山东舰相比，003型几乎肯定会搭载一款全新的飞机。随着这艘新航母工作的进展，中国国有的航空工业也一直在研究新型先进舰载机，包括海军版的F-35型FC-31/J-35隐形战斗机和KJ-600机载早期预警和控制飞机——大致类似于美国海军的E-2鹰眼。

Improved Flanker derivatives, such as the J-15T fighter and J-15D electronic warfare jet, are likely to fly from the Type 003's deck, too. Altogether, this mix of existing and planned aircraft very much mimics the expected future composition of the U.S. Navy's carrier air wings. The PLAN has clear ambitions to integrate various tiers of unmanned platforms on all of its aircraft carriers, and other ships, too, as you can read more about here.

改进的侧翼衍生型号，例如J-15T战斗机和J-15D电子战喷气机，也可能从003型的甲板上飞行。总的来说，这种现有和计划中的飞机的组合非常类似于美国海军未来航母航空联队的预期组成。中国海军有明确的野心，要在所有航母和其他舰艇上整合各种层次的无人平台，在这里可以阅读更多相关文章。

In addition, while aircraft carriers are and will continue to be important to the PLAN operational planning close to home, including in any crisis over Taiwan and in support of activities in the hotly contested South China Sea, it is actively moving to be able to deploy these ships and other surface actions groups further abroad.

此外，虽然航空母舰对中国海军在本土附近的行动计划是并且将继续是重要的，包括在（一旦发生的）台湾（省）危机，以及在竞争激烈的南中国海活动的支持，它正在积极地向能够在更远的海外部署这些舰艇和其他水面行动群。

Last year, U.S. military officials disclosed that they had assessed that the Chinese military's naval base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti had been expanded in such a way that it could support visits by the country's existing carriers. This facility is China's only overseas naval base to date, though it is at least seeking access to basing options elsewhere, including at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base. The Chinese government is helping to fund the expansion of that base. Cambodian authorities have persistently denied U.S. government claims that the new construction there will be exclusively for use by the PLA.

去年，美国军方官员透露，他们评估说，中国军队在非洲之角国家吉布提的海军基地，已经扩大到可以支持中国现有航母访问的程度。该基地是中国迄今为止唯一的海外海军基地，不过中国至少正在寻求选择其他地方的基地，包括柬埔寨的雷姆海军基地。中国正在资助该基地的扩建。柬埔寨当局一直否认美国政府的说法，即这一新基地将完全由解放军使用。
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It is important to note that, even after its launch, the Type 003 is still likely years away from entering full operational service. The move to the CATOBAR concept of operations is a massive one that will take time to perfect. The U.S. military has mostly recently said publicly that it expects the ship to enter service in 2024.

重要的是要注意到，即使在下水后，003型仍然可能需要数年时间才能实现全面作战服务。向弹射航母操作概念的转变是一个巨大的过程，需要时间来完善。美国军方最近曾公开表示，预计该舰将于2024年服役。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


At the same time, the launch of the Type 003 carrier, which looks all but certain to come in the very near future, will mark an extremely important step forward in the PLAN's efforts to expand its carrier capabilities and China's growing ability to project military power around the world.

与此同时，003型航母的下水，看起来几乎肯定会在不久的将来到来，将标志着中国海军在努力扩大其航母能力，及中国在世界范围内投射军事力量的能力方面，向前迈出了极其重要的一步。