"The Chinese haven't seen this type of carrier before and it could be very useful to them. They are trying to vacuum up as much know-how as they can."
- Robert Karniol, Asia editor for Jane's Defence Weekly, 2008

The Liaoning (CV-16), is the first aircraft carrier commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force. It is classified as a training ship, intended to allow the Navy to practice with carrier usage.

Originally laid down as the Admiral Kuznetsov class multirole aircraft carrier Riga for the Soviet Navy, she was launched on December 4th, 1988, and renamed Varyag in 1990. The stripped hulk was purchased in 1998 by the People's Republic of China and towed to Dalian shipyard in northeast China. After being completely rebuilt and undergoing sea trials, the ship was commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as Liaoning with class name Type 001 on September 25th, 2012.

Pictured here is a 1:700 scale replica of the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force Liaoning class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Liaoning (CV-16) when it paid a visit to Hong Kong in 2017. Sold Out!

Diorama Dimensions:
Length: 22-1/4-inches
Width: 7-1/4-inches

Release Date: February 2020

Historical Account: "From Russia with Love" - The Liaoning was initially laid down as the Riga at Shipyard 444 (now Mykolaiv South) in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on December 6th, 1985. Design work was undertaken by the Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau. Launched on December 4th, 1988, the carrier was renamed Varyag in late 1990, after the famous cruiser. Often referred to as an aircraft carrier, the vessel's design implied a mission different from carriers of the United States Navy, Royal Navy or French Navy. The Russian term used by her builders to describe the ships is a "heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser", intended to support strategic missile-carrying submarines, surface ships, and maritime missile-carrying aircraft of the Russian fleet. The Soviet Union and later Russia argued that the ships are not aircraft carriers under the Montreux Convention and not subject to the tonnage limits imposed on these ships in traveling through the Bosphorus.

Construction ceased by 1992, with the ship structurally complete but without electronics. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ownership was transferred to Ukraine; the ship was laid up, unmaintained. Ukraine immediately began searching for possible customers, and made overtures to China, which sent a high-level expert delegation in 1992. Although the delegation made a positive report on the condition of the ship, recommending a purchase, the Beijing leadership declined because of the international diplomatic situation at the time. Nevertheless, the People's Liberation Army Navy did not lose interest, and four years later took an independent initiative for a commercial purchase.