China launches its third and most advanced aircraft carrier

Asia-Pacific, News June 18, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Fujian is China’s first domestically designed and built domestically-made carrier

China launched its third aircraft carrier named Fujian on June 18, at China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) shipyard in Shanghai where it was under construction since 2018.

Fujian is China’s first aircraft carrier ship to be designed and built entirely in China, according to China’s state-owned media. Fujian aircraft carrier marks significant progress in China’s military advancement as it is far more technically advanced than China’s other two aircraft carrier ships, Liaoning which was commissioned in 2012, and Shandong which entered services in 2019.

Fujian has a displacement capacity of 80,000 tonnes and it is China’s first aircraft carrier to feature an electromagnetic catapult and arresting system that enables the planes to take off and land on its deck. The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System or EMALS uses electricity instead of the traditional steam-powered catapult system allowing advantages in speed and control. The system also takes far less room while enabling the carrier to launch and land aircraft at a higher frequency.

China’s other two aircraft carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, use the ski-jump platform technique to launch aircraft, hence, the inclusion of EMALS in Fujian is a great progress for China’s naval shipbuilding industry.

*^{China’s most advanced Fujian Aircraft carrier. (Image Credit: Chinese Internet)}*

The new carrier is being termed China’s third-generation aircraft carrier. It is similar in size to the U.S. Navy’s Ford and Nimitz class supercarriers. This is the first non-U.S. carrier in the world to even come close to meeting such standards.

The launch of Fujian is a part of China’s efforts to modernize the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Fujian will now start its sea trials. So far it has not been determined where would China deploy Fujian for its first mission.

China has named the aircraft carrier after its southeastern coastal province of Fujian, which is Mainland China’s closest point to the island of Taiwan separated only by the strait of 128 kilometers at its narrowest point.

China on Friday launched its third aircraft carrier, which has been named the Fujian after the country’s southeastern coastal province. https://t.co/8OXIP9p0l4 pic.twitter.com/CYllhWfetM
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) June 17, 2022

China wields one of the largest naval forces in the world and aircraft carriers are the core of any naval fleet. China’s flex of its naval buildup comes at a time when geopolitical tension between China and U.S. are increasing. U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to strengthen ties with allies in Asia-Pacific while especially focusing on making defense agreements on naval fronts. U.S. forces are regularly conducting naval exercises with South Korean and Japanese forces in the Pacific region while the AUKUS security pact and Quad meetings are receiving an unsettling response from China.

Last week, China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said that China would do anything in its power to stop Taiwanese independence. While U.S. President Joe Biden said that Washington would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan.