China launches new aircraft carrier

• On 22 September 2025, the Chinese state broadcaster released multiple videos and photo
• Chinese media released a video teasing the launch of the J-15T carrier-borne fighter aircraft
• On 18 March 2025, the Fujian set out on its seventh sea trial.

China's most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered service days after a grand commissioning ceremony overseen by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to China's state media.

Fujian is a Chinese conventionally powered aircraft carrier serving in the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It is the third carrier of the Chinese aircraft carrier programme and the first of the Type 003 class, succeeding the Type 002 Shandong. It is China's first indigenously designed carrier, and its first capable of catapult-assisted take-offs; previous Chinese carriers used ski-jumps. It is the second carrier in the world (after the United States Navy's Gerald R. Ford) to have electromagnetic catapults (EMALS) for launching carrier-based aircraft. The Fujian EMALS is powered by a Medium-Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) integrated power system - the first of its kind for an aircraft carrier, stated to be more reliable compared to the AC-based EMALS of the Gerald R. Ford-class. It is also the first aircraft carrier in the world to launch a fifth-generation fighter using the electromagnetic catapult system. The domestically built vessel can carry three different aircraft with heavier weapons and fuel loads, making it more powerful than China's first two carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong.

Design

Fujian's class was originally designated by military observers as Type 002, as at the time, the incomplete Shandong was thought to be Type 001A due to it being a modified design of the preceding Type 001, Liaoning. Shandong was officially confirmed as a Type 002 during its commissioning in December 2019. 

Fujian was originally intended to use steam catapults, which the Chinese reverse-engineered from the scrapped HMAS Melbourne. In 2013, PLAN Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo reported that it would use electromagnetic catapults instead. EM catapult prototypes were observed in 2012.

The ship is estimated to be 316 m long, 76 m wide, and have a full load displacement of 80 000 to 85 000 tons. The size has been compared to the United States Navy's Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carriers.

The flight deck has three medium-voltage direct-current electromagnetic catapults, an angled landing runway with arresting gears, and two starboard hangar elevators. As of 2025, electromagnetic catapults are the most technologically advanced aircraft launch technology and are only used on the Fujian and the USS Gerald R. Ford, while all previous CATOBAR systems have used steam catapults.

The carrier’s air wing is estimated to include at least 40 fixed-wing aircraft and 12 helicopters. The onboard air wing includes catapult-compatible J-15T multirole fighters, J-15DT electronic-warfare aircraft, J-35 stealth fighters, the KJ-600 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, and the HZ-20 utility helicopters.

Sea trials

Fujian started its first sea trials in May 2024, although the PLAN only acknowledged that trials were underway in December 2024. On 18 November, the carrier left on the longest of the five sea trials and returned to Jiangnan pier near Shanghai on 3 December 2024. 

On 18 March 2025, the Fujian set out on its seventh sea trial. Because catapult testing was expected to take place, expectations that the ship could be commissioned in 2025 were raised, should the tests be deemed a success. The carrier returned from its seventh sea trial on 1 April 2025. Fujian carried out its eighth sea trial at the end of May 2025, with ship-borne Shenyang J-35 stealth fighters, fitted for catapult launch, carrying out tests and flights at the same time.

On 1 August 2025, Chinese media released a video teasing the launch of the J-15T carrier-borne fighter aircraft using electromagnetic catapults. The ninth and final sea trial began on 10 September 2025. On 11 September, the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force confirmed it was spotted in waters northwest of the Senkaku Islands heading for the Taiwan Strait. It was confirmed to have passed through the Taiwan Strait and headed for the South China Sea for training and testing. 

On 22 September 2025, the Chinese state broadcaster released multiple videos and photos showing the complete launch and recovery sequence for the Shenyang J-15T, Shenyang J-35, and Xi'an KJ-600 aircraft, via the ship's electromagnetic catapults. The PLA Navy announced that Fujian had achieved "initial full-deck operational capability, and the test laid the foundation for the ensuing integration of the carrier air wing and the carrier battle group.