Outfitting Work, System Debugging of China’s Aircraft Carrier ‘Almost Complete’

China’s first home-made aircraft carrier has completed outfitting work and system debugging and is soon expected to commence mooring trials.

Global Times quoting Chinese defense ministry spokesperson reported on Thursday that the construction of the Type 001A aircraft carrier is on schedule.

The Type 001A, which was launched on April 26, is being constructed in the coastal city of Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Mooring trials are needed to test the carrier, including its power system, communications and radar. During the mooring tests, the ship will stay in the port. The mooring trials to commence this month, are supposed to be ahead of schedule which means it would only take the carrier five months to get to the mooring trial stage after its launch in April, the report said.

Quoting a Beijing-based naval military expert Li Jie, the report said, "If everything goes well, the mooring trials might only take about a month. Once the mooring trials are completed, the carrier can move on to its sea tests," said.

Hu said that a total of 532 institutions have participated in the development of the carrier, with 412 of them non-military, including State-owned enterprises, private companies, scientific research institutes and universities, the report said quoting a CCTV dispatch.