Military Situation Time: The Shandong Aircraft Carrier's First Outing in the Western Pacific - A Review of China's Aircraft Carrier High-Seas Training Journey on Its Third Anniversary

The first aircraft carrier Liaoning: First time sailing out of the First Island Chain

On September 25, 2012, the Liaoning officially joined the People's Navy, hull number 16. From this day on, the Chinese people had their own aircraft carrier.

From December 2016 to January 2017, the Liaoning carrier group achieved significant breakthroughs. First, it conducted actual weapon exercises for the first time, performing air-to-air and air-to-surface drills in the Bohai Sea. Subsequently, the Liaoning led a distant sea training group through the Miyako Strait, entering the Western Pacific and South China Sea, marking the first time the Liaoning conducted training outside the First Island Chain since its commissioning.

On June 25, 2017, the Liaoning carrier group set sail from Qingdao to begin a cross-regional maneuver training mission, lasting 22 days. The carrier group navigated through the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea, covering a total distance of over 4,600 nautical miles. While the Liaoning continuously refreshed its distant sea training records, China's first domestically produced aircraft carrier also officially embarked on its distant sea journey.

Shandong's distant sea exercises: From solo operations to joint strikes

From April to May 2023, the Shandong carrier group first conducted systematic and large-scale operations in the Western Pacific, participating in combat readiness patrols around Taiwan and the "Joint Sword" exercise. The Shandong carrier group closely coordinated with the forward naval and air forces, with J-15 carrier-based fighters taking off in succession, rapidly establishing a combat system for the carrier group in the exercise area. The transition from single carrier operations to dual carrier joint strikes marks the increasing maturity of the Chinese Navy's carrier operations, with its system combat capabilities entering a new stage.

In October 2024, the Liaoning and Shandong carrier groups will conduct their first dual carrier group exercises.

In June 2025, the Liaoning and Shandong carrier groups will shift operations to the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, and Western Pacific, coordinating with relevant military branches to organize mutual conditions and adversarial practical combat. This will be the second time the two carrier groups conduct system confrontation exercises in the distant sea following last year's first joint exercise.