"Operating a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is an exclusive club, one that China looks set to join," says a researcher behind the analysis of satellite images and government documents.

China's development of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could soon place it among the elite naval powers, joining the U.S. and France. -Satellite images suggest Beijing is close to creating a prototype of a nuclear propulsion system for a carrier,

U.S. researchers have concluded that China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor to power future aircraft carriers.