Chinese (PLAN) aircraft carrier, LiaoNing (CV-16) Hong Kong visit 2017

The Liaoning aircraft carrier (codename: Type 001 aircraft carrier, hull number: 16, referred to as: Liaoning) is an aircraft carrier under the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy that can carry fixed-wing aircraft. It is also China's first aircraft carrier in service.

The predecessor of the Liaoning aircraft carrier is the Soviet Navy's Marshal Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier sub-ship Varyag. In the mid-to-late 1980s, the Varyag encountered the disintegration of the Soviet Union when it was being built in Ukraine. The construction project was interrupted, and the completion rate was 68%. . In 1999, China purchased the Varyag and arrived at Dalian Port on March 4, 2002. On April 26, 2005, the Chinese Navy began to continue construction and improvement. The People's Liberation Army's goal is to modify and manufacture this unfinished aircraft carrier and use it for scientific research, experiments and training purposes. On September 25, 2012, it was officially renamed Liaoning and delivered to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.
 

In November 2013, the Liaoning ship sailed from Qingdao to the South China Sea to conduct a 47-day comprehensive maritime exercise. During this period, the Chinese Navy organized a large-scale ocean-going aircraft carrier battle group with the Liaoning aircraft carrier as the mainstay. The battle group consisted of nearly 20 ships of various types. This is the largest maritime force concentration exercise by a single country in the Western Pacific since the end of the Cold War, except for the U.S. Navy. It also marks the beginning of the Liaoning aircraft carrier's maritime formation battle group capabilities. On April 12, 2018, the Liaoning fleet appeared in the South China Sea Military Parade.