80,000-tonne next-gen warship begins week-long trials in East China Sea

China today announced the sea trials of its next-generation aircraft carrier Fujian. This is China’s third aircraft carrier and the first equipped with electromagnetic catapults.

US aircraft carriers use the technology of electromagnetic catapults to launch fighter jets from deck.

China’s two other carriers — Liaoning and Shandong — have ski-jump take-off and use the technique called the short take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR), the same used by Indian carriers INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant.

A catapult launch allows jets to carry heavier payload and reduce the time between the launch of two jets.

Fujian will undertake week-long sea trials in East China Sea. The 80,000 tonne warship is as big as anything the US makes and bigger than carriers made by the UK, France, India and Japan.

“The aircraft carrier Fujian set sail for its first test voyage from a pier at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai on Wednesday morning,” the Chinese Communist Party-owned Xinhua News Agency reported.

China’s maritime safety administration had on Tuesday issued two navigation restriction notices — one stating that a large ship will exit the estuary of the Yangtze river on Wednesday and the other stating that military activities will be commenced in an area in East China Sea from May 1 to May 9

The sea trials focus on the reliability and stability of the Fujian’s propulsion and power. In the coming months, the carrier will conduct several sessions of sea trials and test more complicated operational components, including electromagnetic compatibility, weapons systems as well as take-offs and landing of aircraft on its deck.

Fujian is expected to host not only improved versions of the J-15 fighter jet, but also new aircraft, including the next-generation stealth fighter jet J-35, the fixed-wing early warning aircraft KJ-600 and the JL-10 advanced trainer jet.

A US Department of Defense report, “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China-2023”, says Fujian will have greater endurance and will increase the striking power of a potential PLAN (PLA-Navy) carrier battle group when deployed to areas beyond China’s immediate periphery”.

The Indian Navy’s plan for a third carrier has, so far, not been okayed by the government.