Navy

China eyes building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers

China’s future aircraft carriers may be nuclear-powered, says a big Chinese defense contractor.

State-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) reportedly said in a statement on Tuesday that it plans to “speed up the process of making technological breakthroughs in nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, new-type nuclear submarines, quiet submarines, maritime unmanned intelligent confrontation systems, maritime three-dimensional offensive and defensive systems, and naval warfare comprehensive electronic information systems.”

The Chinese Communist Party tabloid Global Times says it’s the first time a state-owned Chinese defense contractor has openly identified building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers as one of its projects.

The newspaper quoted Chinese military experts as saying that Beijing may be making progress in developing nuke-powered aircraft carriers and that officials may eventually confirm the news.