Key Points and Summary – China’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, could become operational as soon as next month, marking a major leap in its naval capabilities.
-A new state media video highlights the vessel’s imminent commissioning, framing it as a symbol of China’s rise and a direct contrast to past naval humiliations by Japan.
-The Fujian is China’s first carrier equipped with advanced electromagnetic catapults, a technology on par with the U.S. Navy’s Ford-class, allowing it to launch heavier and more diverse aircraft.
-An even more advanced nuclear-powered carrier, the Type 004, is already under development.
China’s Fujian Aircraft Carrier Could Arrive Soon
Is China getting ready to introduce its new Fujian aircraft carrier? Some new reports indicated that it is.
According to the South China Morning Post, which cited a “video by state broadcaster CCTV,” the Fujian could be commissioned as soon as next month, in connection with the 80th anniversary of China’s “victory over Japanese aggression.” A military parade has been scheduled for that day.
“In August 2025, China’s first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, designed and built entirely at home, is preparing for official commissioning. Eighty-eight years ago, the Imperial Japanese Navy’s flagship Izumo prowled in the same waters,” the CCTV video says, per SCMP.
The video also has naval historian Chen Yue discussing the events of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
“The armoured cruiser Izumo’s guns were pointed directly at Shanghai’s urban districts. The money used to buy that warship came from reparations extracted under the Treaty of Shimonoseki. It became a symbol of Japan’s aggression against China.”
About the Fujian
What do we know about that new carrier?
Naval Technology shared some details back in May of 2024.
“Newly released images of China’s new aircraft carrier undertaking sea trials have further highlighted the scale of the country’s naval modernisation efforts as it continues to carve out of sphere of influence into, though, and beyond the western Pacific,” the report said.
“Publishing a series of images on 8 May 2024, China’s Ministry of National Defense stated that the Fujian had completed its maiden voyage as the vessel begins to undertake sea trials required before it can enter service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy, also known as the PLAN.”
While specs of the carrier are not known, Naval Technology did report that “a recently released recognition chart from the US Office for Naval Intelligence (ONI) gives a length of 315 metres (m), the same as the two former Russian Kutznetsov-class aircraft carriers acquired by China in the mid-2010s, now named Liaoning and Shandong (also known as the Type 001/Type 002).”
“In case you are unaware, the 80,000-ton Fujian is China’s first entirely domestically-produced aircraft carrier. She is also the nation’s most advanced, sporting electromagnetic catapult system (like U.S. Ford-class carriers) instead of the old ski-jump ramps,” Interesting Engineering reported this week.
“She first left her shipyard in June 2022 and has since undergone extensive testing and trials. The catapult system makes it more powerful because it can launch heavier aircraft, launch more often, and support advanced planes like stealth fighters and electronic warfare jets.”
What Will That Parade Look Like?
“The equipment for the parade was not made for display but for fighting,” a commander of a tank unit said in the CCTV interview, as reported by Interesting Engineering. “From the training ground to the parade site, if ordered, we can go directly from the parade site to the battlefield,” he added.
The Catapults
According to a report by the War Zone, on August 1, China teased catapult launches from the new carrier.
“Signs are growing that China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is close to demonstrating its ability to launch and recover aircraft from its first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, the Fujian, if it has not done so already,” THE War Zone reported. “Fujian completed an eighth round of sea trials, which were said to have been particularly intensive, back in May.”
Some “official footage” of flight operations aboard the carrier also surfaced earlier this summer.
“Chinese authorities have yet to show aircraft launching from or recovering aboard Fujian, but the newly released imagery notably includes a view of a Shenyang J-15T single-seat carrier-based fighter at least in position for a catapult launch with its afterburners engaged,” the War Zone report said.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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