Recent satellite imagery of the PLA Navy Air Force's (PLANAF's) Huangdican Airbase (AB) shows the extent of China's progress in creating training infrastructure for its carrier-based fighter aircraft - and its commitment to developing effective naval air power as a means to project power in its near seas.

The imagery also suggests that Ukraine will be unsuccessful in persuading China to rent its Soviet-era carrier aircraft training base, the Nazemniy Ispitatelno-Tryenirovochniy Kompleks Aviatsii (NITKA). IHS Jane's reported in November that Kiev was looking to China as a potential tenant at the NITKA facility as the Russian Navy is refusing to pay more to extend its lease.

Located on the northwest coast of the Bohai Gulf, Huangdicun AB is about 8 km south of Xingcheng AB in the Shenyang Military Region. Construction of the training centre began in 2008 and ended in 2012. The first publicised test flight using the base's new facilities - by a Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark fighter aircraft - took place in January 2012.

Huangdicun AB possesses numerous features necessary to train future PLANAF aviators for operations aboard Liaoning/ , China's Kuznetsov-class carrier, or other future carriers. Mock carrier landing decks, fitted with a complete set of arrestor wires and deck markings including an outline of Liaoning 's superstructure, lie at either end of the main runway. A second area adjacent to the main runway contains two more ski-jump ramps, again with complete sets of mock deck markings.

There are 24 visible hangars for J-15 fighters, although these appear to be deployable aircraft shelters rather than permanent structures. There are also three permanent 36 x 55 m hangars that could be for rotary-wing assets. The size of the hangars also allows the accommodation of fixed-wing support assets such as a carrier-based airborne early-warning and control (AEW&C) platform.

As of October, the residential complex, which lies within the overall perimeter of the airbase but is separate from the airfield proper, was still being built. This may partially explain the general lack of activities at the site at this time. Meanwhile, a lack of weapons storage facilities, coupled with the absence of suitable long-term aircraft accommodation, serves to highlight the training and non-operational nature of the site.

The Huangdicun base is a major upgrade on the only other carrier-aviation site in China: Xian-Yanliang, which is home to the China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE) and the site of flight testing for the J-15. While J-15 prototypes performed initial training using a ski-jump constructed at Xian-Yanliang, the base lacked arrestor gear.

Huangdicun AB also alleviates China's need to seek outside locations for flight training, such as NITKA, which Ukraine was offering as a perfect solution for Chinese inexperience in carrier operations. The IHS Jane's report on the NITKA proposal quoted a Ukrainian official who noted that the J-15 "is almost the same aircraft as the original Russian carrier-capable [Sukhoi] Su-33, so very little would need to be done to offer a training regime for Chinese carrier pilots".

The scope of Huangdicun AB provides clarity on future Chinese CV design. For example, the presence of two separate ski-jumps and arrestor wire landing strips lends credibility to the suggestion that China's next aircraft carrier will retain Liaoning 's short take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) arrangement.

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