Beijing launches Fujian, its first electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier

China has officially commissioned its latest and most technologically advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, marking a major milestone in the country’s naval modernisation drive.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping presided over the commissioning ceremony earlier this week at a military port in Sanya, on the southern island of Hainan, as per foreign media reports.

The Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier and the first to feature an electromagnetic catapult launch system, or EMALS — a cutting-edge technology that allows the vessel to launch multiple aircraft types. Chinese state media said the system enables planes to take off with heavier payloads of weapons and fuel, giving them greater range and striking capability against distant targets.

So far, the only other aircraft carrier in the world equipped with EMALS technology is the US Navy’s newest carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, which was certified for flight deck operations using the system in the spring of 2022.

Weighing about 80,000 tons, the Fujian is the largest and most capable warship ever built for China’s navy and comes closest in size and design to the US Navy’s 97,000-ton Nimitz-class carriers. Its commissioning, analysts say, underscores Beijing’s growing ambitions to project power far beyond its shores.

Compared to China’s earlier carriers — the Liaoning and Shandong — which rely on ski jump-style ramps to launch aircraft, the Fujian’s flat deck and EMALS system allow it to carry a larger number of heavier and more heavily armed fighters.

During recent sea trials ahead of its formal entry into service, the Fujian successfully launched China’s new carrier-based J-35 stealth fighter, the KJ-600 early-warning aircraft, and a naval variant of the J-15 fighter jet.

Military analysts and regional defence officials are closely monitoring the vessel’s next steps to assess how quickly it becomes fully combat-ready. Observers are expected to track flight operations, crew training, and efforts to integrate the carrier into wider fleet operations with support ships and submarines.

China is also constructing another carrier, currently known as the Type 004, which is expected to go a step further by being nuclear-powered — similar to the USS Gerald R. Ford — while also employing EMALS technology.

Chinese state media and naval expert Zhang Junshe described the Fujian as a symbol of China’s rise as a major maritime power, calling its commissioning “proof that China has entered a new era of aircraft carrier capability.”

By Tamilla Hasanova