Satellite Images Show A New Dry Dock In Hainan Big Enough To Service China's New Type 002 Aircraft Carriers

An artist’s impression of China’s new Type 002 aircraft carrier. Photo: Handout

SCMP: South China Sea: PLA’s new dry dock in Hainan big enough for Type 002 aircraft carriers, analysts say 

 * Satellite images show facility at Yulin Naval Base in Sanya will be able to accommodate the giant warships 

 * The first of China’s next-generation carriers is expected to launch next year 

A dry dock being built at China’s naval complex on the island province of Hainan in the South China Sea will be big enough to accommodate the country’s new generation of aircraft carriers, military analysts say. 

Satellite images found this month via the Earth Explorer website show the facility under construction at the Yulin Naval Base in Sanya, where China’s first domestically developed aircraft carrier, the Shandong, was commissioned in December last year. 

The dock is located about 2.5km (1.5 miles) from a pier where a Type 075 amphibious assault ship and several smaller warships were seen berthing recently. 

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WNU Editor: This sounds right .... .... “All aircraft carriers need to spend more than half the year undergoing maintenance, so it’s necessary to build a dry dock before the launch of the new aircraft carrier,” the person said.

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