Citing military observers the South China Morning Post (August 6) reported that the 65,000-tonne Type 001A, China’s first home-grown aircraft carrier, is undergoing another sea trial, straight after four days of testing, suggesting that the PLA Navy may have identified technical problems requiring immediate attention. The test area is near the Dalian port where the aircraft carrier was built. The Type 001A was spotted returning to Dalian port on August 4 after completing the testing. It said Chinese military enthusiasts following the Type 001A’s development spotted a J-15 fighter jet and a helicopter on its deck when the vessel was tugged from Dalian port to the Yellow Sea on August 1. A Beijing-based military source said take-off and landing tests were conducted in last week’s sea trial.

(Comment: China has built more than 50 J-15 fighter jets and trained dozens of aircraft carrier-based pilots, and the squad is big enough now to deploy on both the Liaoning and the Type 001A.)