Sanya, Hainan is building a large dry dock can accommodate aircraft carriers

Large dry docks at the Sanya base, one to accommodate aircraft carriers and the other to accommodate the 055,000-tonne drive

Satellite photos show that two large dry docks at the Sanya Naval Base on Hainan Island are nearing completion and are likely to be used to house aircraft carriers.

Military analysts believe that the Chinese Communist Navy (PLAN) is strengthening its control over the South China Sea (SCS) with practical actions.

Naval News reports that the SCS is a strategically important and highly competitive area of water in East Asia, surrounded by as many as 11 countries. China claims full sovereignty with its historical nine-dash line and has been strengthening its military infrastructure in the area. In addition to air bases, naval bases are adding important equipment, including dry docks that can accommodate aircraft carriers.

New satellite images show that at the Sanya naval base, the new large dry dock is nearing completion and is large enough to accommodate not only the existing Liaoning and Shandong, but also the new Type-003 supercarrier under construction. It indicates that there will be at least 1 aircraft carrier in the future, with Sanya as the will permanent base.

The 075 amphibious assault ship is being moored at the Sanya base.

In addition, the photo also shows a new 075 amphibious assault ship moored near a large dry dock that could have housed a carrier.

China now has two aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, based on the Russian Kuznetsov class, but the 003, which is being built at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, is of greater concern to Western observers. Because 003 has a larger displacement than the first two ships, and it is likely to use electromagnetic catapults (EMALS), which would bring its performance closer to that of the U.S. Navy’s Ford class.

A ship with an EMALS system would allow for the launch of heavier aircraft, such as the Air Marshal 600 naval early warning aircraft, similar to the U.S. Army’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. The new fighter will also be more efficient to launch, with a larger bomb load and cruising range.