On October 6, 2026, Military Watch Magazine reported that Dalian Shipyard had installed three more flight-deck sections on China's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in about five days. The ship is widely called the Type 004, though Beijing has not confirmed that designation or released any specifications. The report points to rapid modular assembly, with large external structures recently attached to the port side and two sponson-like additions visible in late September imagery. By August, satellite imagery showed the hull at roughly 320 metres long and 46 metres wide at its widest visible point, before the bow and full flight deck were complete.
The most useful figures come from independent satellite analysis. Janes reported that imagery from September 4 shows work on the bulbous bow, which suggests a completed hull length of 336 to 339 metres. That would put it level with, or marginally longer than, the U.S. Navy's Gerald R. Ford class at 333 metres. Analysts have estimated a displacement of 110,000 to 120,000 tons, though length alone cannot establish displacement, because beam, hull depth and internal arrangement all matter. The carrier is being built in the same Dalian dry dock that produced the Liaoning and Shandong, and it follows the Fujian, China's first catapult-equipped carrier, which entered service in 2025.
The nuclear question is where a skeptical read helps. Satellite imagery from November 2025 showed two compartments of about 15 by 15 metres inside the hull, which Janes assessed could accommodate two reactors, and several analysts have since called the ship almost certainly nuclear-powered. The War Zone noted in August, however, that this has still not been definitively confirmed. That distinction matters because the Military Watch article and some other coverage describe it flatly as a nuclear supercarrier. The evidence is strong and consistent, but it remains inference from imagery rather than an official statement.
The "three sections in five days" headline also needs context. Modern shipbuilding relies on prefabricated blocks assembled in the dock, so a burst of installations shows a well-organised yard and supply chain, which is real but not the same as a ship nearing completion. Analyst Eric Wertheim noted that the Fujian took six years from construction start to launch, and if the Type 004 follows a similar schedule, a launch around 2032 is plausible, although China could compress that. Fitting reactors, propulsion and the flight-deck systems, then testing them, is the slow part, and none of it is visible from space.
What a nuclear carrier would change is endurance and power. A reactor removes the need to refuel the ship itself, and analysts point out that the electrical generation could matter as much as propulsion, powering catapults and sensors. But a carrier is only one part of a strike group. It still needs escorts, aircraft and replenishment ships for the air wing's fuel and munitions, and nuclear engineering demands trained crews and a safety culture that China's navy has not yet shown at carrier scale. The article's claim that China is years ahead of the United States in integrating sixth-generation fighters into carrier air wings is an assertion that I found no independent support for.
Ultimately, the Type 004 looks like a serious and fast-moving program, and the open evidence points to China building its first nuclear carrier at industrial speed. Three markers will show whether that holds: an official confirmation of the propulsion and designation, the launch date, and the first sea trials. Until then, the safest summary is that Dalian is assembling what looks like the world's longest carrier, while its propulsion, timeline and capability remain inferred from imagery.
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