Type 001-class (Liaoning / CV-16)

The Type 001 aircraft carrier, designated Liaoning (16), originated as the Kuznetsov-class vessel Riga, laid down for the Soviet Navy in 1985. Renamed Varyag in 1990, the ship was 68% complete when construction halted following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A Chinese buyer purchased the hull from Ukraine in 1998, and the vessel was towed to the Dalian naval shipyard, arriving in 2002. The ship underwent a complete reconstruction and modernization before entering service.

The Type 001 utilizes a Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) configuration. While based on the Soviet Kuznetsov design, the Chinese configuration excludes the internal cruise missile launchers found on the original hull, using that space to increase hangar and storage capacity. The primary sensor suite includes the Type 346 S-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) and Type 382 3-D search radars. The vessel operates an air wing consisting of Shenyang J-15 fighters and various rotary-wing aircraft, including the Changhe Z-18 and Harbin Z-9. Fixed-wing operations use a ski-jump takeoff system, which restricts the maximum takeoff weight and range of the aircraft compared to catapult-based systems. The platform lacks organic fixed-wing airborne early warning and anti-submarine aircraft, necessitating support from land-based platforms.

The People's Liberation Army Navy commissioned the vessel on September 25, 2012. It initially served as a training platform to establish carrier aviation procedures and pilot certification. In late 2018, the ship underwent a six-month refit that modified the superstructure and refurbished the flight deck. Following these upgrades, the vessel transitioned to a combat role in 2019.

The carrier is home-ported at the Yuchi Naval Base in Shandong province. Operational deployments have included transits through the Miyako Strait into the Western Pacific and live-fire exercises in the South China Sea. In June 2025, the vessel conducted its first dual-carrier operations alongside the Type 002 carrier Shandong in the Philippine Sea. During military drills in December 2025, the carrier group operated in international waters near Okinawa, where J-15 fighters conducted intercepts of Japanese aircraft.