The aircraft carrier Liaoning on its most recent voyage.

China’s Global Times newspaper announced on December 25 that Beijing wants to develop the current Liaoning combat aircraft carrier cluster into multiple aircraft carrier fleets to gain a geostrategic advantage over the US, according to National Interest.

On December 26, the Liaoning aircraft carrier, carrying 13 J-15 fighter ships, entered the Pacific Ocean for the first time in an escort formation of the country’s state-of-the-art anti-submarine and anti-aircraft warships.

According to defense expert Dave Majumdar, for decades after World War II, the US aircraft carrier force was almost unrivaled on the world’s oceans.

Previously, China only focused on implementing the `anti-intrusion, anti-area access` strategy at sea following the Soviet model, using a combined formation of aircraft, submarines and surface ships.

China has renovated and put into service the Liaoning aircraft carrier with the initial purpose of researching and training the skills necessary to operate an air group on the aircraft carrier.

China has developed the J-15 aircraft model copied from the Soviet Su-33 fighter to build a future air group with 24 J-15 fighters, 6 Z-18F submarine hunting helicopters, 4 helicopters

In its 2015 Chinese military power report, the Pentagon said that the Liaoning ship and its air group are currently not capable of projecting offshore power like the US Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, even if it

Although the J-15 has better aerodynamic performance than the US F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Liaoning aircraft carrier’s jump-style runway design limits this fighter’s weapon load and

China also recognizes this problem.

A group of US aircraft carriers.

However, China does not have experience in building ships as large as the US Nimitz-class or Ford-class aircraft carriers.

Even when building new generation aircraft carriers, China still has to overcome many other inherent weaknesses, according to Majumdar.

The US Super Hornet fighter ship is equipped with advanced electronic systems and sensors, always fighting in groups, especially when the Marine Air Defense Fire Control system (NIFC-CA) is in operation.

Cruisers equipped with the Aegis complex can fire SM-6 missiles at targets beyond the horizon using data provided by the E-2D aircraft.

`Even though China can develop an aircraft carrier with an air group or a carrier escort strike group, it may still need decades to complete before it can compete with the US Navy in the sea.

China’s J-15 fighter ship successfully launched a cruise missile