Liaoning is China's first commissioned aircraft carrier and began the PLAN's practical experience with fixed-wing carrier aviation. Built from an unfinished Soviet hull and completed in China, the ship gave Chinese naval aviation a real deck for takeoff, recovery, maintenance, and carrier-group experimentation.
Liaoning's ski-jump STOBAR configuration supports J-15 fighter operations and helicopter missions, but it cannot match the launch flexibility of catapult carriers. Its practical value is still significant: pilots, deck crews, air controllers, escorts, and commanders all need repeated at-sea cycles to build credible carrier capability.
The ship is best understood as the foundation of China's carrier pathway. It helped establish procedures, identify limits, and generate the personnel base used by Shandong and Fujian. Even if later carriers are more capable, Liaoning remains central to understanding how China moved from concept to operational carrier aviation.
| Name | Country | Status | Service Year | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CNS Liaoning (CV-16) | 🇨🇳China | ACTIVE | 2012 – Present | Type 001 carrier, modified Kuznetsov-class design |
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