China’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has rapidly progressed to active maritime training exercises, marking a significant milestone shortly after its official entry into service. Less than two weeks after its commissioning, the warship—China’s first indigenous carrier utilizing advanced electromagnetic catapult technology—began extensive, multi-subject drills alongside a coordinated naval task force, demonstrating an accelerated path toward operational readiness.
Evaluating Advanced Carrier Operations
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) confirmed that the carrier strike group recently undertook comprehensive operations, focusing on integrated naval protocols like precision formation navigation and joint ship-aircraft search and rescue missions. The task force accompanying the carrier included the Type 055 large destroyer Yan’an and the Type 054A frigate Tongliao, showcasing the coordinated operations required for a modern high-seas deployment.
A central focus of these initial exercises was the debut performance of the Fujian’s sophisticated aircraft launch and recovery systems. Unlike China’s first two carriers, which use ski-jump ramps, the Fujian operates with an electromagnetic catapult system (EMALS). This technology allows for quicker, heavier, and more diverse aircraft launches, significantly enhancing the carrier’s power projection capabilities.
During the training, multiple advanced aircraft successfully utilized the EMALS. These included:
- J-35 stealth fighters
- J-15T heavy fighter jets
- KJ-600 early warning aircraft
These successful launch and recovery cycles served a crucial goal: verifying the functionality of the electromagnetic catapults, the aircraft recovery mechanisms, and the overall efficiency of flight deck operations under realistic conditions.
Refining High-Tech Capabilities
Naval personnel involved in the drills reported gaining valuable practical understanding of the electromagnetic systems’ specific performance parameters. The intensive training sessions prioritized optimizing coordination between flight deck crews, combat positions throughout the carrier, and the pilots. Establishing this foundational proficiency is critical for ensuring the safe, efficient, and sustained execution of flight operations.
Military analysts closely tracking the carrier’s development have noted the extraordinarily quick transition from commissioning to live-force exercises. The speed of this operational development suggests the vessel and its crew may achieve combat ready status much sooner than the timelines typically projected for such complex, first-of-class warships.
Commissioned on November 5th in Sanya, Hainan Province, the Fujian represents a substantial technological leap for the PLAN. With a full-load displacement estimated to exceed 80,000 tons, its implementation of electromagnetic catapult technology is a game-changer. This advanced capability allows the carrier to launch aircraft with greater fuel and ordnance loads than previously possible, extending the striking power of China’s naval aviation arm.
The successful integration and testing of these complex systems during the initial live-force exercises underscore China’s commitment to modernizing its deep-water naval capacity. The rapid progression into comprehensive drills signals a clear intent to quickly integrate the Fujian into the front line of the nation’s maritime defense and power projection strategies, setting a new benchmark for carrier development in the region.