Why in News?
China has commissioned its third and most advanced aircraft carrier ‘Fujian’, equipped with electromagnetic catapults, making China the world’s second-largest aircraft carrier fleet operator after the US.
Description:
| Feature | Fujian |
| Commissioned | 5 Nov 2025 |
| Type | Conventionally powered |
| Special Feature | Electromagnetic Catapult Launch System (EMALS) |
| Status | 1st fully designed & built in China |
| Displacement | ~80,000+ tonnes |
| Aircraft Capacity | 50+ aircraft |
- Fujian is China’s first carrier equipped with EM catapults (previous two used “ski-jump” ramps).
- With Fujian’s induction, China becomes the 2nd largest aircraft carrier fleet operator after the USA.
- 1st carrier: Liaoning (refitted Soviet Kuznetsov-class)
- 2nd carrier: Shandong (China’s 1st indigenously built but not fully indigenous designed)
Strategic Importance:
- Boosts China’s power projection in the Indo-Pacific / Taiwan theatre.
- Allows launch of heavier aircraft → more fuel + more missiles → higher strike radius.
- China is now developing a 4th carrier → likely nuclear powered (110,000 tonnes class, 100 aircraft).
| Carrier | Type | Tech | Origin |
| Liaoning | Conventional | Ski-Jump | Soviet origin (refit) |
| Shandong | Conventional | Ski-Jump | China built (1st) |
| Fujian | Conventional | EM Catapult | Fully designed + built in China |
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