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2h ago

China’s Fujian Carrier Completes First EMALS Launches and Arrested Landings as PLAN Declares Initial Full-Deck Capability

The trials mark China’s shift to catapult operations that permit launches of heavier aircraft including fixed‑wing early warning planes.

In these photos provided by the Chinese navy on September 22, 2025, a KJ-600 aircraft (top) and J-15T and J-35 fighter jets (bottom left and right) take off from the aircraft carrier CNS Fujian at an undisclosed sea location.
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Overview

  • State media and the PLAN said J-15T and J-35 fighters and the KJ-600 early warning aircraft successfully launched via electromagnetic catapults and recovered with arresting wires.
  • Officials described the results as confirming compatibility across aircraft types and conferring an initial full-deck operational capability for the Fujian.
  • Fujian is China’s first domestically built CATOBAR carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults, a step beyond the ski-jump decks of Liaoning and Shandong.
  • Recent activity included a transit of the Taiwan Strait and operations toward the South China Sea as the ship’s trials expanded beyond yard-adjacent waters.
  • Defense analysts called the trials a major technical step yet emphasized the need for night operations, high-tempo deck cycles, and extended deployments before a combat-ready air wing is fielded.