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China is developing a navy that can compete with the US navy. In terms of total equipment, China is now ahead but it does not have the power to show strength due to the lack of aircraft carriers. Now according to an AP report, China has begun construction of a nuclear reactor that will be used on their next aircraft carrier.
With nuclear aircraft carriers, China can carry out longer missions because ships of this type can sail for years without needing to be refueled. Through satellite images taken near the city of Leshan in the province of Sichuan, researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California found evidence of a prototype reactor for the ship being built.
This nuclear reactor construction project was named Longwei and the project area was named Base 909 under the jurisdiction of the China Nuclear Energy Institute. The construction of nuclear aircraft carriers is the next step for China to reach a level equivalent to the United States and France which are the two countries that have them. America has 11 nuclear aircraft carriers and France has only one.
China is already able to build conventional aircraft carriers of its own design as well as those equipped with the CATOBAR system. Last year we reported China was interested in building a nuclear-powered cargo ship. At that time it was just planning with projects built by public companies without the involvement of the military.