China May Be Building Nuclear Aircraft Carrier to Contend with U.S. Forces Around Taiwan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:35 JST, December 30, 2025

Satellite imagery shows frames resembling nuclear reactor containment vessels at what is believed to be the dockyard in China where the country is building its fourth aircraft carrier, according to an analysis by the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals. This could be China’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

The fourth carrier is believed to be under construction at a dock in Dalian, Liaoning Province, the same dock where the country’s second carrier, the Shandong, was built. Keel blocks, used during shipbuilding to support the hull, were confirmed at the dockyard in February. In November, part of the hull appears to have been assembled, and two frames, each measuring 16 meters long and 14 meters wide, were found inside the hull.

These frames resemble the size and shape of nuclear reactor containment vessels on U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, according to Maki Nakagawa, a researcher at the institute. Other than the United States, France is the only country that possesses a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Two reactors are typically said to be installed to ensure that a ship can continue sailing even if one reactor malfunctions.

The Chinese military already has nuclear-powered submarines and the technology to use nuclear power for propulsion.

China’s three existing carriers are conventionally powered. To counter U.S. forces approaching in a Taiwan contingency, the country is developing the ability to deploy carrier strike groups to distant waters in the western Pacific and elsewhere. It was also suspected to be developing nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which can operate for longer than carriers running on conventional power sources.

Assuming the fourth carrier takes around the same time to build as the third carrier, the Fujian, it could potentially enter service in seven years.