{"id":379386,"date":"2026-09-29T11:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/?p=379386"},"modified":"2026-09-29T11:12:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:12:05","slug":"chinas-type-004-carrier-shows-new-progress-it-may-be-bigger-than-the-uss-gerald-r-ford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/chinas-type-004-carrier-shows-new-progress-it-may-be-bigger-than-the-uss-gerald-r-ford\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Type 004 carrier shows new progress: it may be bigger than the USS Gerald R. Ford"},"content":{"rendered":"

Satellite imagery and analyst reporting suggest China\u2019s Type 004 aircraft carrier entered hull assembly<\/strong> at Dalian Shipyard in early 2025. Construction appears to have kept moving through 2026, with continued progress visible in later imagery.<\/p>\n

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From what outside observers can piece together, the Type 004 may be China\u2019s biggest<\/strong> and most ambitious carrier so far: roughly 336 to 339 meters long and about 110,000 to 120,000 tons. That would put it in the same class as, or slightly above, the USS Gerald R. Ford<\/a>, which comes in at about 337 meters and 100,000 tons. China hasn\u2019t confirmed those numbers, so analysts are still working from satellite imagery and what they can infer from activity at the shipyard.<\/p>\n\n

A growing number of analysts also think the Type 004 could be China\u2019s first nuclear-powered<\/strong> carrier. That view comes from reported internal spaces that appear consistent with reactor shielding. If that reading is right, the ship would have much greater range and endurance. Add an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, plus an air wing that some analysts put at up to 90 aircraft, and the result could be a clear step up in sortie generation compared with earlier Chinese carriers.<\/p>\n\n

If you follow naval modernization, this one deserves attention. The Type 004 would be China\u2019s fourth carrier<\/strong>, with the Fujian still going through sea trials, and U.S. estimates have suggested China could field as many as nine carriers by 2035. Even so, the U.S. still holds the lead with 11 active carriers and far more operational experience.<\/p>\n\n

For now, though, the Type 004 program can only really be tracked through satellite imagery and analyst reports. The ship\u2019s sensors, electronic warfare suite, air wing mix, and doctrine all remain unconfirmed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Satellite imagery and analyst reporting suggest China\u2019s Type 004 aircraft carrier entered hull assembly at Dalian Shipyard in early 2025. Construction appears to have kept moving through 2026, with continued progress visible in later imagery. From what outside observers can piece together, the Type 004 may be China\u2019s biggest and most ambitious carrier so far: … Continue reading “China\u2019s Type 004 carrier shows new progress: it may be bigger than the USS Gerald R. Ford”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9349,"featured_media":379385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1015],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-379386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9349"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":379387,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379386\/revisions\/379387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379386"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=379386"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=379386"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=379386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}