Li Shan-class aircraft carrier
 The ZNS Li Shan (CVN-51), the first ship of its class.
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: | Zhenia |
| Preceded by: | Shindan-Class Aircraft Carrier |
| Built: | 1989-Present |
| In commission: | 1995-Present |
| Planned: | 5 |
| On order: | 1 |
| Building: | 1 |
| Completed: | 5 |
| Active: | 5 |
| General characteristics Li Shan-Class | |
| Type: | Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier |
| Displacement: | 100,000 metric tons (full load) |
| Length: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 316.2 m on waterline, full load 357.7 max on deck |
| Beam: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 78 m (deck) 41 m (waterline) |
| Draught: | 10.52 m |
| Propulsion: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 2 x Raon Electric WRN-1500X nuclear reactors 4 x shafts |
| Speed: | In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Range: | Unlimited |
| Complement: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 550 officers 3,811 enlisted (about 2,890 crew) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Gaonmir-X Integrated Combat System |
| Armament: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 6 x SkyGuard CIWS Integrated System 32 x VLS cells for surface-to-air missiles |
| Aircraft carried: | Up to 80 fixed-wing aircraft |
| Aviation facilities: | 340 x 78 m flight deck, hangar (below-deck) |
The Li Shan-Class Aircraft Carrier is a class of nine nuclear-powered aircraft carriers built in Zhenia aimed for service in the Republic of Zhenia Navy. Intended to serve as the de facto flagships of each Zhenian fleet and carry out over-the-horizon aerial cover for its strike group, it is the largest nuclear-powered combat vessel ever to be in service with the Republic of Zhenia Navy history, easily surpassing the tonnage of its predecessor, the Shindan-class aircraft carriers.
Development
Initial work on what would become the Li Shan-class initiated directly after the November Revolution, when the Republic of Zhenia Navy demanded an expanded, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that would have a significant increase in capacity than its existing Shindan-class aircraft carriers. Although nuclear propulsion had been experimented and applied on the two final ships of the Shindan-class - the ZNS Balakhaat and the ZNS Haedong - its relatively small size that remained the same from its predecessors clearly showed constraints in capacity, including aircraft loading and endurance, as well as support for more modern systems. Preliminary designs of considerably larger nuclear-powered aircraft carriers were released by 1982, with the final proposal being a 90,000+ ton aircraft carrier powered by two nuclear reactors at its core. Among the designs at consideration was a traditional design with a single island, although it was rejected in favor of a design with two separate islands, one handling the ship's aviation and the other hosting the bridge.
The ship was laid down in 1984 and was completed in 1989, although there had been issues with the development of the new nuclear reactors that were to be used on the class; stability issues regarding the nuclear reactor was not solved until 1992, when the nuclear reactors were finally installed into the ship. It was then accepted into the Republic of Zhenia Navy for test trials, until it was finally accepted into service on February 25, 1995. Since then, a total of 7 ships were ordered, the latter 4 of which were built in Batch II standards to respond to ever-changing military situations; the ZNS Kim Dojin, the final ship of its class, is set to be introduced into service by 2027.
Design
Propulsion
All ships of the Li Shan-class are powered by two Raon Electric WRN-1500X pressurized water reactors, which are isolated from another by being positioned in separate compartments. The steam generated from the two nuclear reactors drive four steam turbines, which in turn drive four propeller shafts, ultimately producing a sustained speed of over 30 knots (56 km/h) and power of over 192 MW in total. The existence of nuclear reactors ultimately provide a theoretically unlimited operational range, with its only propulsion-wise range restraint being the nuclear fuel needing to be changed around 20-25 years during its mid-life refueling; each carrier of the Li Shan-class is capable of operating at least two refueling cycles.
Aviation Facilities
The Li Shan-class has a 340 x 78 m flight deck for aviation operations, as well as four large elevators delivering aircraft to and from hangars below deck, four smaller elevators to transport munitions, five arrester wires for landing and four steam catapults.