OVERVIEW: Liaoning, a Type 001 aircraft carrier, is the first aircraft carrier commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force.

DETAILS:Originally laid down in 1985 for the Soviet Navy as the Kuznetsov-class aircraft cruiser Riga, she was launched on 4 December 1988 and renamed Varyag in 1990. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, construction was halted and the ship was put up for sale by Ukraine. The stripped hulk was purchased in 1998 and towed to the Dalian naval shipyard in northeast China.

Her hull was sandblasted, scaffolding erected, and the ship's island was painted in a red marine primer to treat metal corrosion.

Observers have noted the installation of Type 348 active electronically scanned array (AESA) Radar (four arrays) and Sea Eagle radar. The air defense system consists of the Type 1030 CIWS and the FL-3000N missile system. The anti-ship missile tubes would not be used, freeing up internal space for hangar or storage use. Russia has explored similar modifications to her sister ship Admiral Kuznetsov.


SOURCES:Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. "Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning - Wikipedia." n.d. Accessed September 9, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_aircraft_carrier_Liaoning. 