Satellite imagery appears to show China has recently used a new dry dock to repair an aircraft carrier for the first time, a move experts described as significant in supporting the East Asian military power’s fast-growing warship fleet and expanding its reach.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Why It Matters

As part of its push to challenge its top military rival, the United States, China is rapidly modernizing its navy by fielding the world’s largest combat fleet, with more than 370 ships and submarines, including three aircraft carriers. This allows Beijing to project power farther afield and across the broader western Pacific through naval deployments.

In addition to continued shipbuilding efforts, the Chinese military is expanding support infrastructure to sustain the growth of its naval operations, particularly at two aircraft carrier home ports: Yuchi Naval Base, in the northeastern region bordering the Yellow Sea, and Yulin Naval Base in the southern region facing the disputed South China Sea.

What To Know

@type36512, a Japan-based military observer on social media, shared a satellite image of Yulin Naval Base captured on Wednesday in which an aircraft carrier can be seen inside a dry dock designed to be drained to allow repairs to be carried out on ships. According to @type36512, this marked the maintenance facility’s inaugural docking of an aircraft carrier for repairs.

The vessel was identified as CNS Shandong, one of two aircraft carriers homeported at the South China Sea outpost. The other is CNS Fujian, which is currently deployed to Yuchi Naval Base along with CNS Liaoning, China’s first operational aircraft carrier.

The massive dry dock was built between 2017 and 2022 and is estimated to be 375 meters (1,230 feet) long and 78 meters (255 feet) wide.

By comparison, the Shandong has a length of 304.5 meters and a width of 75 meters, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ ChinaPower project.

“Event illustrates a significant milestone for [People’s Liberation Army Navy, PLAN] both in terms of diversifying logistics and support infrastructure and reducing reliance on Dalian for carrier maintenance,” said Alex Luck, an Australia-based naval analyst.

Dalian refers to one of two Chinese shipyards that refitted the Liaoning—originally constructed for the Soviet Navy and later purchased by China as an unfinished hull—and built the Shandong, while the Fujian was constructed at the Jiangnan shipyard.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic, a Chinese military observer told Newsweek that the Shandong‘s docking may suggest the PLAN is capable of conducting complex aircraft carrier maintenance outside shipyards.

In an article for the defense outlet Naval News, Luck wrote that developments have been observed at Chinese naval bases over the past year as China has made “significant investment” in expanded infrastructure to support its rapidly growing naval fleet.

What People Are Saying

Alex Luck, an Australia-based naval analyst, wrote for Naval News: “The Yulin naval base on Hainan and the Yuchi installation south of Qingdao have experienced profound expansion. Related work added expansive new berthing and maintenance infrastructure over the last year. These measures will support basing of multiple aircraft carriers and a large fleet of escorts at both bases in the near future.”

A Chinese military observer, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic, previously told Newsweek: “A carrier doesn’t act alone, it also needs to provide support facilities for the entire [carrier strike] group.”

What Happens Next

It remains unclear how long the Shandong will undergo maintenance before it returns to service. The docking of a South China Sea-based Chinese aircraft carrier comes as the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has departed the Western Pacific for a possible deployment to the Middle East amid tensions with Iran.