Overview

• Commercial satellite photos shared on Chinese social media show fresh hull sections at the Dalian shipyard that were absent in August imagery.
• Dalian is the facility that produced China’s first two carriers, reinforcing analysts’ assessments that the new sections relate to a fourth hull widely referred to as Type 004.
• Beijing has not acknowledged a fourth carrier program, and the defence ministry has offered only a general statement about assessing needs and technological progress.
• Separately, China’s third carrier, Fujian, is in what observers describe as final trials after public demonstrations of electromagnetic launch operations and arrested recoveries.
• A Chinese military spokesman said last month that carrier-based aircraft completed catapult takeoff and arrested landing trials on Fujian, while some reports speculate the next carrier could be nuclear-powered, which remains unconfirmed.