An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project seaborne air power far from homeland without depending on local airfields for staging aircraft operations. Since their inception in the early 20th century, aircraft carriers have evolved from wooden vessels used to deploy individual tethered reconnaissance balloons, to nuclear-powered supercarriers that carry dozens of fighters, strike aircraft, military helicopters, AEW&Cs and other types of aircraft such as UCAVs. While heavier fixed-wing aircraft such as airlifters, gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on a carrier due to flight deck limitations.
The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It is composed of five sub-branches: the Surface Force, the Submarine Force, the Coastal Defense Force, the Marine Corps and the Naval Air Force, with a total strength of 350,000 personnel, including 70,000 marines and 30,000 naval aviation personnel. The PLAN's combat units are deployed among three theater command fleets, namely the North Sea, East Sea and South Sea Fleet, which serve the Northern, Eastern and Southern Theater Command, respectively.
The Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrying cruiser, Soviet designation Project 1143.5, is a class of STOBAR aircraft carriers operated by the Russian and Chinese navies. Originally designed for the Soviet Navy, the Kuznetsov-class ships use a ski-jump for launching high-performance jet aircraft and arrestor gears for landing. The design represented a major advance in Soviet fleet aviation over the Kiev-class carriers, which do not have full-length flight deck and could only launch VSTOL aircraft. The Soviet Union's classification for the class was as a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, which permits the ships to transit the Turkish Straits without violating the Montreux Convention. However, the Chinese variants are classified as aircraft carriers.
The People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force is the surface warfare branch of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), consisting of all surface vessels in operational service with the PLAN. The PLAN Surface Force operates 661 ships organized into three fleets: the North Sea Fleet, the East Sea Fleet and the South Sea Fleet.
The Type 071 is a class of Chinese amphibious transport dock ships in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The Type 071 provides the PLAN with capabilities and flexibility not found in its previous landing ships.
The Type 072 is a class of tank landing ship in the People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Seven were built and began entering service by the early-1980s. They replaced American-built LSTs from the Second World War.
The Type 072II landing ship are large landing ships built by Shanghai-based Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard as a successor to the Type 072 landing ship. A total of four hulls have been delivered to the People's Liberation Army Navy since the early 1990s. The Type 072II is the PLA Navy's first amphibious warfare ship to have a flight deck for helicopter take-off/landing. There are three ships currently in People's Liberation Army service, all of which are deployed in East Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy. All active ships are built by China Shipbuilding Shipyard (中华造船厂) in Shanghai.
The Type 073 landing ship is a family of landing ships developed and operated by the People's Liberation Army Navy, it consists of several models. This article details the development of this class that begun in the 1960s. The most recent and modern model of the class is the Type 073A, which were built and commissioned in the 2000s.
As of 2024, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has two active carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, with the third, Fujian, currently undergoing sea trials. A fourth carrier, currently called "Type 004" and featuring nuclear propulsion, might be under construction. Wang Yunfei, a retired PLA Navy officer and other naval experts projected in 2018/2019 that China might possess five or six aircraft carriers by the 2030s.
The Type 724 Landing Craft Air-Cushion (LCAC) is the first indigenous air cushion landing craft in operational use with People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and its origin dates back to the early 1960s, when 7th Academy was assigned to lead the developmental work on air cushioned vehicles for a 10-year plan lasting from 1963 to 1972. Two projects developed from this research work, and Type 724 LCAC is the direct descendant of these two research projects.
The Type 056 corvette is a class of littoral combat-oriented corvette deployed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). They replace older coastal patrol craft and some of the Type 053H frigates.
Type 922 rescue and salvage ship is a series of rescue and salvage ships developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and after decades of service they still remain active in other Chinese governmental establishments.
Type 946 submarine rescue ship with NATO reporting name Dazhou class is a type of coastal submarine rescue ship developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). A development designated as Type 946A is also in service with PLAN.
The Type 079 landing ship was a class of landing ship medium (LSM) of the People's Liberation Army Navy. There are two subclasses of this type; 079I and 079II.
Ankang class ambulance craft is a class of little known naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The exact type still remains unknown, because the only official Chinese governmental information released on these crafts is that they are classified as fast ambulance craft, and has received NATO reporting name Ankang class, or 安康 in Chinese, meaning Well-Being. By Chinese classification, any naval vessel with displacement above a thousand ton is classified as ship / warship, and any naval vessel with displacement less than a thousand ton is classified as a boat / craft. Ankang class is the only boat / craft in the Chinese navy that is capable of hosting a helicopter, though it only has a landing pad, but not any hangar. A total of five units of this class have been confirmed in active service as of mid-2010s.
Haiyang Shan is a Type 072III-class landing ship of the East Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
Chaganhu (905) is a Type 901 fast combat support ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
Hainan (31) is the lead ship of the Type 075 landing helicopter dock of the People's Liberation Army Navy. She was commissioned on 23 April 2021.
People's Liberation Army Navy 