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DENVER (AP) _ A commercial U.S. satellite company said it has captured a photo of China's first aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea off the Chinese coast.
DigitalGlobe Inc. said Wednesday one of its satellites photographed the carrier Dec. 8. A DigitalGlobe analyst found the image Tuesday while searching through photos.
Stephen Wood, director of DigitalGlobe's analysis center, said he's confident the ship is the Chinese carrier because of the location and date of the photo. The carrier was on a sea trial at the time.
DigitalGlobe, based in Longmont, Colorado, sells satellite imagery and analysis to clients that include the U.S. military, emergency response agencies and private companies. DigitalGlobe has three orbiting satellites and a fourth is under construction.
The aircraft carrier has generated intense international interest because of what it might portend about China's intentions as a military power.
The former Soviet Union started building the carrier, which it called the Varyag, but never finished it. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it ended up in the hands of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.
China bought the ship from Ukraine in 1998 and spent years refurbishing it. It had no engines, weaponry or navigation systems when China acquired it.
China has said the carrier is intended for research and training, which has led to speculation that it plans to build future copies.
China initially said little about its plans for the carrier but has been more open in recent years, said Bonnie S. Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
``It wasn't until the Chinese actually announced they were sending it out on a trial run they admitted, `Yes, we are actually launching a carrier,''' she said.
China publicly announced two sea trials for the carrier that occurred this year, she said.
The carrier's progress is in line with the U.S. military's expectations, said Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Defense Department spokeswoman.
A Defense Department report to Congress this year said the carrier could become operationally available to the Chinese navy by the end of next year but without aircraft.
``From that point, it will take several additional years before the carrier has an operationally viable air group,'' Hull-Ryde said in an email.
She declined to comment on the DigitalGlobe photo, saying it was an intelligence matter.
<한글 기사>
"中항모, 서해서 시험운항 장면 포착"
중국의 첫 항공모함이 서해 상에서 시험 운항하는 모습이 미국의 상업용 관측위성에 포착됐다고 디지털글로브가 14일(현지시간) 밝혔다.
미국 콜로라도주에 있는 관측위성 영상사진 제공업체인 디지털글로브는 자사 위 성이 지난 8일 찍은 사진을 분석하다가 중국 앞바다 서해 상에서 이 항모를 발견했다고 설명했다.
디지털글로브는 위성사진에 찍힌 함정의 위치와 일자를 감안할 때 중국의 항모라고 확신한다고 덧붙였다.
이 업체는 지구 궤도를 선회하는 관측위성 3기를 보유하고 있으며 네 번째 위성을 건조 중이다. 고객은 미군과 비상대응기관, 민간업체에 이르기까지 다양하다.
중국은 지난 1998년 우크라이나에서 미완성 항모 바랴그호(Varyag)를 사들여 다
롄(大連) 조선소로 옮겨 개조 작업을 진행해왔다.
중국 국방부는 이 항모가 지난 8월10일 처음 출항해 5일간 항해한 이후 각종 장 비 설치와 시험을 거쳐 지난달 29일 두 번째 시험 운항에 나섰다고 발표한 바 있다.
증기터빈 엔진을 갖춘 바랴그호는 옛 소련 시절 건조한 쿠즈네초프급(6만7천500t) 항공모함이다. 갑판의 길이가 302ｍ이고 항공기 52대를 탑재할 능력이 있는 것으로 전해졌다.
미 국방부는 내년 말 중국 해군이 함재기가 없는 상태로 이 항모를 사용할 수 있게 될 것으로 예상된다고 올해 의회에 보고했다.
레슬리 헐-라이드 미 국방부 대변인은 이메일을 통해 "해당 항모가 가용한 비행 전대를 갖추기까지는 추가적으로 몇 년이 더 걸릴 것"이라고 밝혔다.
그는 디지털글로브의 위성사진에 대해서는 기밀 사항이라며 언급을 거부했다.
