Aircraft carrier needs to undertake more rigorous open-sea drills

On Oct 23rd the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning set sail on a voyage to undertake further scientific research, experiments, and drills.

Military expert Du Wenlong told the media in an interview that the open-sea combat capacity of the Chinese navy will only achieve the results required of it if the Liaoning can engage in military exercises in the open seas as part of a core formation.

Du Wenlong pointed out that the carrier's open-sea drills must meet two conditions. One is close coordination between ship-borne aircraft and the aircraft carrier - ship-borne aircraft must progress from "able to fly" to "able to fight". The other is a complete communication, command, and collaboration capacity between fighting naval vessels and the shipboard command system in the aircraft carrier formation - only in this way can uninterrupted communication be guaranteed among underwater vessels, the waterborne formation, and the shore-based major command center.

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