BEIJING, May 29 -- The PLA Navy is conducting sea trials for aircraft carrier Shandong in accordance with the arrangement of the annual trial plan, said Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) at the regular press conference on Friday.
China's first indigenously-built aircraft carrier, the type 001A aircraft carrier Shandong (Hull 17) left the Dalian Shipyard in northeast China's Liaoning Province for military missions at sea on May 25. This is its maiden voyage for training since commissioned five months ago, marking that the Shandong has primarily formed combat effectiveness.
The training is to test the performance of weapons and equipment and improve the level of aircraft carrier training, so as to further enhance the troops' ability to perform missions and tasks, Senior Colonel Ren said.