美国《大众机械师杂志》，创建于1902年，专门报道军事，航空，交通，机械类相关信息，6月16日，在头版报道003号航母，文章标题就是中国最新航母即将下水，可以与西方匹敌，本编（真相更重要）特翻译，供大家分享。
China’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Is Nearing Launch. It Could Rival Those in the West
The unnamed ship is the third and most advanced yet.
BY KYLE MIZOKAMI
JUN 15, 2022
中国最新航母即将下水，可以与西方匹敌
这艘未命名的航母是第三艘，是目前最先进的
作者KYLE MIZOKAMI
6月15日
New satellite imagery shows that China’s new aircraft carrier is nearing launch and could leave drydock very soon. The unnamed ship, known as Type 003, will be Beijing’s most advanced and capable yet. The carrier will also embark a new generation of airplanes, from fighters to support aircraft, that will give it many of the same capabilities of Western aircraft carriers.
The image at the top of this story, taken by commercial satellite operator Planet Labs, shows the massive warship in drydock at Jiangnan Shipyard, near Shanghai. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) began construction of the new carrier in 2018. Type 003 will be the third to join the Chinese navy, following the flat-tops Shandong and Liaoning.
Recent estimates place the carrier’s launch sometime this month, even as early as today, but that does not mean the ship will be ready for active duty anytime soon; in naval parlance, launching doesn’t mean a warship is complete. They’re built in a drydock and then, once the hull and main structures are complete, the drydock is flooded with water and the ship is floated out to sit by a pier. June 14 satellite images from Planet Labs do appear to show Type 003 in a flooded drydock.
新的卫星图像显示，中国的新航母即将下水，并可能很快离开干船坞。这艘未命名的003型战舰将是北京迄今为止最先进、最有能力的战舰。该航母还将搭载新一代飞机，从战斗机到支援飞机，这将使其具备许多与西方航母相同的能力。
这张由商业卫星运营商行星实验室拍摄的图片显示了位于上海附近江南造船厂干船坞的大型军舰。中国人民解放军海军（PLAN）于2018年开始建造新航母。003型将是继平顶的山东和辽宁之后第三艘加入中国海军的航母。
据最近估计，这艘航母将于本月某个时候下水，甚至最早在今天，但这并不意味着这艘航母将很快做好现役准备；按照海军的说法，下水并不意味着一艘军舰就全部完成了。它们建造在干船坞中，一旦船体和主要结构完成，干船坞就会被灌水淹没，船就会浮到码头旁边。6月14日，来自行星实验室的卫星图像显示，003型水淹干船坞。
From there, a warship typically takes another year or two to complete, depending on its size, to “fit out,” as everything from radars and missiles to chairs are brought aboard. So yes, the ship will “launch” any day now, but it actually won’t be complete until at least 2023 or 2024.
Although the ship is incomplete, we can make out many of its features already in place. The ship has two aircraft elevators on the starboard side, fore and aft of the island superstructure. The island, home to aircraft and ship operations, is smaller and more compact than those on previous Chinese carriers.
The most important new feature on Type 003 is the use of catapults to launch aircraft. The new carrier has three catapults: two along the main flight deck, and a third on the angled flight deck running along the port side. The catapults are identifiable in the image at the top of the story as the three long channels running lengthwise along the flight deck.
从那以后，一艘军舰通常需要一到两年的时间才能完成“舾装”，这取决于它的大小，因为从雷达、导弹到椅子，所有的东西都被带上了船。是的，这艘船现在随时都会“下水”，但实际上至少要到2023年或2024年才能完工。
虽然这艘船不完整，但我们可以看出它的许多特征已经就位。该船的右舷、岛上部结构的前后部有两台飞机升降机。该岛是飞机和船舶运营的所在地，比之前的中国航母更小、更紧凑。
003型飞机最重要的特点是使用弹射器发射飞机。新航母有三个弹射器：两个沿着主飞行甲板，第三个沿着左舷倾斜的飞行甲板。在这篇报道顶部的图像中，弹射器可以识别为沿着飞行甲板纵向延伸的三条长通道。
The older carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, use a ski ramp to launch jet fighters into the air. Although effective, this limits the takeoff weight of fighters, reducing the amount of fuel and munitions each can carry. That in turn reduces their range and effectiveness in combat. Another disadvantage of ski ramps is that they are also incapable of launching propeller-driven aircraft, meaning China’s first two carriers are unable to embark crucial support aircraft.
The real question is what kind of catapult system Type 003 will have. The major navies of the world used steam-powered catapults for more than 80 years. Although effective, the complex routing of steam from the bowels of the ship up to the flight deck takes up a lot of internal volume. Steam catapults are also incapable of fine-tuning their power to allow smaller, lighter uncrewed aircraft to safely
辽宁和山东的老航母使用滑雪坡道向空中发射喷气式战斗机。虽然有效，但这限制了战斗机的起飞重量，减少了每架战斗机所能携带的燃料和弹药量。这反过来又降低了它们的作战范围和效能。滑雪道的另一个缺点是，它们也无法发射螺旋桨驱动的飞机，这意味着中国的前两艘航母无法搭载关键的支援飞机。
真正的问题是003型弹射器系统会有什么类型。世界主要海军使用蒸汽动力弹射器已有80多年的历史。虽然有效，但从船舶内部到飞行甲板的复杂蒸汽路线占用了大量的内部体积。蒸汽弹射器也无法微调其功率，以允许更小、更轻的无人飞机安全飞行
USS Gerald R. Ford, the U.S. Navy’s latest supercarrier, utilizes the brand-new electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS). EMALS is powered by a series of strong magnetic fields, capable of rapidly accelerating an aircraft to takeoff speed. The new system makes for a smoother takeoff than the old steam system, and can launch both propeller-driven aircraft and smaller drones. Notably, France’s next aircraft carrier, PANG, will also use EMALS.
China has been working on an electromagnetic catapult system of its own. In 2017, reports surfaced that the People’s Liberation Army Navy had “achieved a breakthrough” in developing an EMALS-like system. Type 003 began construction in 2018, so it’s possible that the new ship will incorporate the new tech.
美国海军最新的超级航母杰拉尔德·R·福特号使用了全新的电磁飞机发射系统（EMALS）。EMALS由一系列强磁场驱动，能够快速加速飞机至起飞速度。新系统比旧的蒸汽系统起飞更平稳，可以发射螺旋桨驱动的飞机和小型无人机。值得注意的是，法国的下一艘航母“庞”号也将使用EMALS。
中国一直在研制自己的电磁弹射器系统。2017年，有报道称，中国人民解放军海军在开发类似EMALS的系统方面“取得了突破”。003型于2018年开始建造，因此新船可能会采用新技术。
Regardless of launch system, Type 003’s use of catapults opens up new possibilities for China’s aircraft carriers. Today’s aircraft carriers still use propeller-driven aircraft for certain roles, especially those that prioritize range or loiter time over speed. The U.S. Navy, for its part, uses the prop-powered E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft, which is based on the C-2 Greyhound transport. The E-2D is the eyes and ears of a carrier task force, capable of detecting threatening aircraft and missiles from hundreds of miles away—far beyond the range of ship-based radars. The E-2D can also direct large numbers of fighter jets in both offensive and defensive roles.
无论发射系统如何，003型弹射器的使用为中国航空母舰开辟了新的可能性。今天的航空母舰仍然使用螺旋桨驱动的飞机执行某些任务，尤其是那些优先考虑航程或游荡时间而非速度的任务。美国海军则使用基于C-2灰狗运输机的支柱动力E-2D高级鹰眼机载预警和控制飞机。E-2D是航母特遣部队的眼睛和耳朵，能够从数百英里以外的舰载雷达范围内探测到威胁飞机和导弹。E-2D还可以指挥大量战斗机执行进攻和防御任务。
The use of a catapult on Type 003 will allow the PLAN to embark its own version of the Hawkeye. The aircraft, known as KJ-600, bears a strong resemblance to the E-2D and will give the new carrier the same capabilities. Type 003 will also likely carry China’s second-generation carrier-based fighter, the FC-31. The FC-31 “Gyrfalcon” is a twin-engine stealth fighter that likely has both air-to-air and air-to-ground roles. The FC-31 strongly resembles the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates Type 003 is approximately 1,043 feet long. That’s 50 feet shorter than American carriers, but 42 feet longer than Liaoning and Shandong. The new carrier can likely carry between 48 and 60 aircraft—a combination of FC-31s, KJ-600s, a carrier onboard delivery transport aircraft based on the KJ-600 airframe, and both utility and anti-submarine warfare helicopters. The carrier could carry between 36 and 48 FC-31s. A U.S. Navy Ford-class carrier, by comparison, carries about 74 aircraft, including 44 F/A-18E/F and F-35C strike fighters.
003型弹射器的使用将使该计划能够搭载自己版本的鹰眼。这架名为KJ-600的飞机与E-2D非常相似，将为新航母提供相同的能力。003型还可能搭载中国第二代舰载战斗机FC-31。FC-31“Gyrfalcon”是一种双引擎隐形战斗机，可能兼有空对空和空对地的作用。FC-31与F-35联合攻击战斗机非常相似。
战略和国际研究中心估计003型大约有1043英尺长。这比美国航母短50英尺，但比辽宁和山东长42英尺。新航母可能搭载48至60架飞机，包括FC-31s、KJ-600s、基于KJ-600机身的舰载运输机，以及通用和反潜作战直升机，可携带36至48架FC-31。相比之下，一艘美国海军福特级航母搭载约74架飞机，其中包括44架F/A-18E/F和F-35C攻击战斗机。
How many carriers will China ultimately have? China currently has three flat-tops, but the ships are of varying usefulness. The first, Liaoning, is a training carrier and would be marginally useful in wartime. The second, Shandong, was built for war, but has all of Liaoning’s limitations. Type 003 will be the first carrier with a combat capability approaching Western carriers.
There have been suggestions that China would eventually build six carriers, but the Chinese economy is slowing down just as the first truly useful carrier is preparing for launch. China may not reach its reported goal of a half-dozen flat-tops … or it may build more than that. Only time will tell.
中国最终会有多少架航母？中国目前有三艘，但用途各不相同。第一艘是辽宁号，是一艘训练航母，在战时用处不大。第二个，山东，是为战争而建的，但有辽宁的所有局限性。003型航母将是第一艘具有接近西方航母作战能力的航母。
有迹象表明，中国最终将建造六艘航母，但就在第一艘真正有用的航母准备下水之际，中国经济正在放缓。中国可能达不到其报告中的六艘航母的目标……或者它可能会建造更多的。只有时间能证明一切。
