China develops a catapult for planes
Yin said China was able to develop the device because its engineers have designed a state-of-the-art ship-based power system. The country has outperformed the US in the development of such systems, which are considered by military experts as a game-changing technology in naval hardware, he said.
"Compared with the US, we have better technologies in key parts, such as motor-control devices and power distribution software. We are leaders in the research and development of integrated electric power systems," he said.
Yin said that China now possesses proven technologies for both steam catapults and electromagnetic launch systems. He said the Navy's second domestically designed carrier will use a catapult system to assist takeoffs rather than the ski-jump mode.
The Chinese military has yet to announce details regarding the new carrier, but some observers speculate that construction will begin soon in Shanghai.
The PLA Navy's current carrier, the Liaoning, was refitted from a partially built Soviet ship. It went into service in September 2012 and has completed several long-range training exercises.
In late April, China put its first domestically developed carrier into the water at a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province. It is currently being fitted with equipment and undergoing tests. It is the largest and most sophisticated vessel yet for China. Its name will be announced once it is commissioned.
Both carriers have a displacement of 50,000 metric tons and employ the ski-jump mode for launching fixed-wing aircraft.
Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said that the use of a catapult enables a carrier to launch larger and heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing early-warning planes and allows fighter jets to carry more fuel and weapons.
He said electromagnetic launch systems are able to control the force of acceleration better than the old steam-powered design, and is safer for planes. They are also smaller and use less fuel than the steam-based devices, he said.
