In recent years, China's aggressive expansion
of its military presence on disputed South China Sea territories has highlighted for
the nation's leadership the necessity for a 'blue water', or ocean-going, navy. As the cornerstone of any modern naval force,
the Chinese turned their ambition towards developing a homegrown aircraft carrier- now,
nearly a decade after refitting a half-built former Soviet carrier as a test ship, the
Chinese have recently put to sea their first indigenous aircraft carrier: the Type-001A. Meanwhile, the USA is simultaneously launching
its newest model of aircraft carriers, the Ford Class, as it finishes a 3-year pivot
of its naval forces to the South Pacific in preparation for a possible confrontation with
an increasingly aggressive China. Today, we’ll take a look at a potential
showdown between two of the mightiest ships ever constructed, in this episode of The Infographics
Show, the Chinese Type-001A vs the US Ford Class carrier. To determine a victor, the ships will go head-to-head
in three key areas: crew, speed/power, and armaments. China’s navy is re-entering 'blue' waters
for the first time in over a century and faces a combat-proven United States Navy. But who who would win in an all-out fight? A modern aircraft carrier is essentially a
small floating city, housing a crew of thousands who must flawlessly execute dangerous take-off
and landing operations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all weather conditions. In combat, crews can potentially be launching
and recovering 240 aircraft a day, meaning that this small city must operate in perfect
unison at all times- and all the while with hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of
live bombs and jet fuel on or below the flight deck. Needless to say, crew expertise is a critical
component of any aircraft carrier. The American Ford Class is entering service
into a navy with a rich aircraft carrier tradition. Both in its own wars, and assisting allies
or UN forces, the aircraft carrier has been the tip of American power for over 70 years,
and its pilots and crews indubitably the most experienced in the world. During the height of carrier-based strikes
during the invasions of both Iraq and Afghanistan, American carriers were generating sortie rates
of more than 200 a day, an absolutely incredible feat of teamwork and expertise. The Chinese meanwhile have only now reached
6 years of aircraft carrier experience. For any new navy, and especially its pilots,
the task of operating and launching sorties from a carrier is a difficult and often painful
one to master. Landing a 70,000 lb (32,000 kg) airplane atop
a moving deck in the middle of the ocean is an incredibly difficult task for any airman,
and Chinese pilots were not only learning how to do this for themselves, but actually
designing the training program for future pilots simultaneously. Due to Chinese censorship, exact figures are
impossible to verify, but it is clear by the leak of reports of ongoing accidents involving
pilots both at sea and testing carrier technologies on dry land, that the Chinese are finding
the process of cutting their teeth on carrier operations to be as painful as any other nation's. Another important factor, however, is the
Chinese government's shaky faith in its own troops due to decades of corruption. As he assumed office in 2012, Chinese President
Xi Jinping was warned by senior staff that they doubted China's ability to fight and
win any war due to the prevalence of corrupt and incompetent military leadership. Xi would immediately launch a series of historic
anti-corruption purges, announcing in 2016 that an incredible one million officials had
been punished for corruption. Western observers note that corruption is
still a major concern for Chinese leadership, and also point at a three-times lowering of
military recruitment standards as signs of questionable fitness from its service members. Still, the launching of the Type-001A clearly
signals a Chinese navy that's shaping up and literally shipping out. Shaking off the dark shadow of corruption
and boldly stepping forward into its first carrier program, China is still unfortunately
overwhelmingly outclassed by America's experience, giving the Ford Class the advantage for crew
expertise. Our next critical assessment of the two aircraft
carriers lies in the area of speed. Aircraft carriers are the vanguards of a nation's
naval forces, and as such need to be fast enough to get to hot spots anywhere in the
world quickly. Speed isn't just important for getting to
warfronts quickly though, but also to make a carrier harder to detect and target. By staying in constant motion, an aircraft
carrier is much harder to neutralize than an airfield, but can be just as big a threat. America has a long history of forward-deploying
its carriers around the world, and thus it's no surprise that speed was a big priority
for the US Navy, with the Ford Class displacing a whopping 100,000 tons and still reaching
speeds in excess of 35 mph (56 kph). By comparison, the Type-001A is a lithe 70,000
tons and travels at 36 mph (57 kph). Slight, but the advantage would seemingly
still go to the Type-001A- except for the reason why though it is 30% lighter, the Type-001A
is only 1 mph faster than the Ford Class: nuclear power. The US Nimitz class, which the Ford replaces,
carries dual nuclear reactors capable of generating a combined 450MWs of electricity, but the
40 year old design is incapable of generating enough power for modern systems. The Ford Class was thus designed not only
to operate modern power-hungry electronics, but with a projected service life of 90 years,
its nuclear reactors can generate up to 700MW- over 25% more than its Nimitz predecessors
and leaving plenty of juice for future weapons and upgrades. Though the Chinese Type-001A is faster by
a hair, the Americans once more have the advantage courtesy of the Ford's dual A1B nuclear reactors,
and all the modern and future capabilities a Ford carrier can thus bring to bear. Crew, speed, and power are all important for
any vessel- but what about the actual weapons both ships bring to bear against one another? Unlike any other combat vessel, an aircraft
carrier is unique in that it is equipped with few if any long-range strike capabilities
in the form of guns or missiles. Instead they rely completely on the aircraft
they launch for both offense and defense. Because our two carriers would never physically
see each other in our hypothetical combat, we instead must look at the combat aircraft
each brings to bear. China's Type-001A's exact air wing compliment
remains unconfirmed as the ship has only now entered sea trials and is yet years away from
being operational. Analysts however have estimated that the Type-001A
will carry either 4 more fixed-wing aircraft, or 8 helicopters than the Type-001, bringing
its air wing to 24-28 fighters and 17-25 helicopters. Once operational, the Type-001A will be equipped
with the J-15 “Flying Shark” fighter jet. Denounced by Russia as a copy of their Sukhoi
Su-33 fighter, the J-15 is indubitably heavily influenced by the Su-33, but features indigenously-developed
technologies, an important goal for Chinese military aviation. However, by China's own admission the J-15's
engines are not as powerful as either the Russian Su-33's or the American Superhornet's,
requiring the Type-001A carrier to be equipped with a ramp-like ski jump to help get the
plane into the air. Its weaker engines and need for a ski-ramp
for takeoff assist means that the J-15 cannot take off with as much fuel or weapons as an
American plane, a critical vulnerability in carrier-on-carrier combat. By comparison, the American Ford class is
predicted to field between 75 and 92 aircraft- potentially tripling its combat power vs the
Chinese Type-001A. More important though is the configuration
of the American air wing vs the Chinese air wing- a Ford Class carrier will be equipped
with stealthy F-35s, EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets, MQ-25 Stingray refueling and
reconnaissance drones, and E-2D Hawkeye airborne early-warning and control aircraft. The addition of electronic attack, airborne
refueling, and early-warning aircraft to the American air wing means that US jets will
be able to fly further for longer, and fire first on radar-jammed and blind Chinese fighters. In the combat calculus of armaments, it is
a no-contest win for the United States, who comes armed with triple the firepower and
more sophisticated fighter and support aircraft. So who would win in a fight between the Chinese
Type-001A and an American Ford Class carrier? The United States brings proven combat veterancy
and decades of experience in both operating and building aircraft carriers. Its new Ford Class carriers are not only based
on a proven design, but will come equipped with the world's first 5th-generation aircraft
and have plenty of capability to adopt emerging technologies such as energy and railgun weapons. While a brave and very impressive start, the
Chinese Type-001A is still just that: a start based on an obsolete design for a nation that
for decades had no interest in aircraft carriers. Still, some critics argue that the Ford Class
is too ambitious and fields too many new technologies that have never been tested in combat. Should the worst come to pass and an American
Ford carrier ever finds itself in combat versus China's Type-001A, the victor will almost
certainly be the American ship- but who knows, maybe somewhere deep within the American high-tech
carrier lies a critical vulnerability that may spell doom for America's flag ships. So, what do you think? Despite the overwhelming advantages, do you
think China's first aircraft carrier has a chance of going toe-to-toe versus a Ford? Can the J-15 beat America's stealthy F-35,
or will the super-ambitious, state-of-the-art, but combat unproven F-35 be the Ford's Achille's
Heel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! Also, be sure to check out our other video
called Top 10 Most Powerful Militaries in 2017! Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
