China Commissions Fujian, Its Most Advanced Aircraft Carrier With Electromagnetic Catapults

Overview

• Beijing brought the Fujian into service this week during a Nov. 5 ceremony in Hainan attended by Xi Jinping, who boarded the ship and received briefings on its systems.
• The carrier uses an electromagnetic aircraft launch system that enables heavier fuel and weapons loads and higher launch speeds, a technology otherwise fielded only by the U.S. Navy’s Gerald R. Ford.
• The ship is conventionally powered and is described by state media and analysts as China’s largest and most capable carrier to date.
• Analysts caution that real combat capability will require years of integration, training and support assets, and that multiple ships of this class would be needed to alter regional power dynamics.
• China now operates three carriers, placing it second behind the United States by fleet size, and some reports suggest a fourth carrier could arrive in the early 2030s, which remains unconfirmed.