| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Preceded by | Type 003Fujian |
| Planned | 4[1] (estimate) |
| Building | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type 004 |
| Type | Aircraft carrier |
| Displacement | Up to 120,000 tons[2][3][4] |
| Propulsion | Nuclear marine propulsion |
| Speed | At least 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)[5] |
| Aircraft carried | 90 to 100 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft,[2][6] includingJ-15Tmultirole fighters,J-35stealth fighters,KJ-600AEW&C aircraft,HZ-20ASW/utility helicopters, and stealthattack drones.[7] |
| Aviation facilities | 4–5EM catapults,hangar deck[8] |
TheType 004 aircraft carrier is an upcomingclass ofsupercarriers for theChinesePeople's Liberation Army Navy. The yet-unnamedlead ship of the class is currently in construction at theDalian Shipyard since 2024,[9] and is the fourthaircraft carrier of theChinese aircraft carrier programme and the third to be built indigenously by China.
Like the proceeding Type 003 carrierFujian, the Type 004 carriers will be capable ofcatapult-assisted takeoff but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) operations via the sameDC-supercapacitorelectromagnetic catapult system jointly developed by theChina Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and theChinese Academy of Engineering. Unlike the conventionally-poweredFujian, the Type 004 will be much larger and also likely the first Chinesesurface warship to featurenuclear marine propulsion.[10][11]
China hoped to complete the carrier by the late 2020s,[12][4] and indicated that up to four ships might be built, which would give China a total carrier fleet size of 7.[1] In October 2025, satellite imagery of the Dalian Shipyard showed the first stages ofkeel-laying andhull construction for the supposed Type 004 carrier.[13]
In 2017, theChinese Central Government was reportedly ready to spend RMB 22 billion (USD$3.3 billion) on the development of twoprototypeTMSR-LF1thorium-basedmolten-salt reactors to be built atWuwei,Gansu province innorthwestern China, aiming to have the reactors operational by 2020.[14]
In December 2023,Jiangnan Shipyard unveiled plans for KUN-24AP, a 24,000 TEU nuclear-poweredcontainer ship designed to useGen IV molten-salt reactors forpropulsion.[15] ThePLA Navy is interested in the same technology to power largesurface warships as part of China'smilitary-civil fusion strategy.[16][needs update]
The Type 004 could carry a larger complement offixed-wing androtorwingcarrier-based aircraft than previousChinese aircraft carriers, including thecatapult-readyJ-15T andJ-35 fighters,Xian KJ-600AEW&C aircraft,HZ-20utility/ASWhelicopters andstealthattack drones such as theGJ-21.[7]
It was previously suggested that the aircraft carrier might carryJ-20 stealth-fighter aircraft.[17] However, in a programme in 2017 onChina Central Television, retired PLAN Rear AdmiralZhang Zhaozhong dismissed the possibility that the J-20 aircraft would be used on aircraft carriers as the aircraft was not structurally designed to cope with carrier operations.[18] In addition, the plane does not havefolding wings for compact storage, and its stealth coating would be susceptible to degradation while at sea.[18]
In November 2024, reports were published that China was in the process of building a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship.[19] According toAssociated Press, and based on new analysis of satellite imagery and Chinese government documents, this was a clear sign that China was starting to produce its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.[19] The Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California was reported to have said that a mountain site outside the city of Leshan in the southwest Chinese province of Sichuan was the place where the prototype reactor was being developed.[20]
On 13 February 2025, reports and images surfaced that showed construction work on a module consistent with an aircraft carrier being carried out at a shipyard in Dalian, in Liaoning province.[21][22] The module apparently was a section of the flight deck and was seen in satellite imagery provided by Google Earth in May 2024. In early 2024, analysts observed, sections of the C3 and C4 catapults were also being built for testing near the dock in Dalian where the second Chinese aircraft carrierShandong was built from 2013 to 2016.[23]
According to theSouth China Morning Post, commercial satellite photographs posted on Chinese social media at the end of September 2025 very probably showed new hull sections of the Type 004 aircraft carrier being built at the shipyard inDalian, Liaoning.[13] The sections were not visible in satellite imagery from August 2025, making a start to the hull of the aircraft carrier in September 2025 convincing.[13] According to analysts, the Type 004 carrier would likely have a displacement of 110,000–120,000 tons, making it 10–20% more massive than theUSS Gerald R. Ford, which is currently the US's biggest aircraft carrier. This would make the Type 004 aircraft carrier China's first nuclear-powered supercarrier, as well as the world's largest aircraft carrier once it's completed. The Type 004 carrier is also expected to have 4–5EMALS, and have the capacity to support at least 90–100 aircraft.[8][2] Satellite imagery indicates that construction likely began in 2024, with progress becoming evident by late 2025. Based on the specifications of the Type 004 and China's building plans, military analysts believe that China is planning to rival the capabilities of the US'sFord supercarrier, and match the firepower of theUS carrier fleet in the Pacific, while also giving China the ability toproject power beyond theSecond Island Chain.[24][25]
Chen Fu, a thermal physicist at the Harbin Institute of Technology involved in the development of new power generation systems for China's navy, said the heat generated by a thorium molten salt reactor could be perfect to help generate power on a warship.
