China’s first aircraft carrier Type 001A hits the water

China’s first domestically constructed aircraft carrier, the Type 001A, hit the water on Wednesday morning, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Member and Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Fan Changlong, attended the ship launching ceremony and delivered a speech.

Water flowed into the shipbuilding dry-dock on Sunday to bring afloat the massive vessel at the shipyard in Dalian, in northeast China’s Liaoning Province, according to media reports.

The Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, which entered service in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 2012, will likely remain a training ship for future carrier crews.‍