China's Carrier Sailing

The Liaoning has set sail, China has it's first aircraft carrier, as much of the world worries about China's growing military power.

For now she won't be receiving aircraft, as China has no pilots or airplanes trained and designed for carrier operations.

It could be several years til the carrier has ready aircraft aboard, but til then she will be a training platform towards that.

At a thousand feet long, the Liaoning is the second biggest class of carriers in the world, only the US's Nimitz class is bigger, which are just short of 1,100 feet long.

She'll be capable of carrying fifty aircraft, plus a few helicopters, and is currently only one of twenty carriers in the world.

Jane's Fighting Ships lists the US as having eleven carriers, with three in construction; Italy with two; India has one, with a second being refitted, and a third being constructed; Russia, France, Spain, Thailand, and Brazil with one a piece; and the UK with only one helicopter carrier, but with two full carriers in construction.