<\/a>Varyag aircraft carrier in Istanbul<\/p><\/div>\n\nThe Liaoing is 304.5m, compared to the 330m US Nimitz class Aircraft carriers. It is larger than the French Charles de Gaulle with 261.5m and the UK Invincible class with only 210m. The\u00a0Liaoing will be able to carry 50 aircraft plus helicopters. The US is still far ahead with 11 active aircraft carriers, Italy is second with 2. India, Brazil, Spain, Thailand, Russia, France and the UK have only one active aircraft carrier each.\n\nThe 304.5m Liaoning is a refurbished Soviet Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier\u00a0purchased from Ukraine. \u00a0It was told the Varyag was sold to a Chinese Businessman (Chong Lot Travel Agency Ltd, Hong Kong) wanted to turn the former Varyag into a floating casino in Macau. According to the Ukraininan press,\u00a0Chong Lot Travel Agency Ltd paid\u00a0USD\u00a020 million for the Varyag. In 2001 the Aircraft Carrier was towed to China. After an overhaul, it was not used as a Casino but for the Chinese Navy.\n