China commissions third Aircraft Carrier, its most advanced warship equipped with Electromagnetic Catapults

China has commissioned its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, stated to be the most modern warship equipped with electromagnetic catapults, at a ceremony attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, wrapped in secrecy.

While the official media reported its commissioning on Friday, a report by state-run Xinhua news agency said that Xi attended the commissioning and flag-presentation ceremony of the Fujian on Wednesday at Sanya port in south China’s Hainan Province.

The Fujian is equipped with an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), used only by the American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.

US President Donald Trump last week said he wanted to abandon EMALS technology and go back to steam power, calling the advanced launch system expensive, unreliable and difficult to repair, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

While all three Chinese carriers are conventionally powered, recent reports said China is reportedly building its fourth aircraft carrier in Dalian, which could be powered by nuclear propulsion to increase its endurance and global reach and provide significantly more power to run advanced systems.

China, which was the last among the major countries to opt for aircraft carriers for its navy, currently has two of them: the Liaoning, a refit of the Soviet-era ship commissioned in 2012, and Shandong, an indigenously built 2^nd aircraft carrier operationalised in 2019.

Fujian has been commissioned after the military said carrier-based aircraft J-15T, J-35 and KongJing-600 have successfully completed catapult-assisted take-off and arrested landing training on its flat deck.

All three carriers are conventionally powered. Fujian is the largest among them with a displacement of 80,000 tonnes.

Analysts say that with tensions on the rise with the US, China may build more aircraft carriers to operate in various global maritime routes.

During his visit to Fujian, Xi, who is also the head of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the Chinese military, has been briefed about the combat capabilities of Fujian and the use of its advanced electromagnetic catapults, according to Xinhua.

As someone who is pushing for rapid modernisation of the Chinese military, Xi himself directed the navy to use EMALS technology, Xinhua reported.

Besides attending the briefings by the commanding officers and pilots about the aircraft’s technical and tactical performance and the advantages of electromagnetic catapults, Xi visited the tower and learned about flight command and take-off and landing operations.

With the operationalisation of the third aircraft carrier, the Chinese navy was expected to begin to deploy them in the immediate vicinity of the Taiwan Strait and the disputed South China Sea.

China claims Taiwan as part of its mainland. It also claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.

With the operationalisation of Fujian, China may also extend the deployment of aircraft carriers in India’s backyard, the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, where its naval fleet is active with bases in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and Pakistan’s Gwadar, besides the commercial port, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, which China acquired as a debt swap.

According to a recent BBC report, China now has the world’s largest operating fleet of 234 warships compared to the US Navy’s 219.

The Indian Navy, which operates two aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya, is also catching up by commissioning more naval ships to maintain its dominance in the Indian Ocean.

Simultaneously, China is developing a new fighter aircraft that can operate from its carrier groups.

Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military affairs expert, told state-run Global Times that Fujian commissioning is a symbol of the achievements in the transformation of the PLA Navy from coastal defence to far seas defence.

Zhang said the commissioning of the Fujian will bring three major changes and capability leaps for the PLA Navy. The first is the use of the electromagnetic catapult system that enables aircraft to take off with full fuel and ammunition, increasing the combat radius and enhancing the attack capability.

Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping said, “As China’s first aircraft carrier with a flat deck, and utilising numerous advanced technologies, including electromagnetic catapults, electromagnetic arresting gear, and an all-electric propulsion system, the delivery speed is remarkably fast,” he said.

Song said that despite China entering “a new era” with three-carrier battle groups, it was not enough to fend off possible interference in the Taiwan Strait.

“Three aircraft carriers are not actually sufficient. China’s aircraft carriers still have certain shortcomings in terms of performance, quantity and combat experience if we want to fend off those countries capable of intervening in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.

Song said Fujian was the only Chinese carrier capable of integrating fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, which would enhance the carrier’s operational capability.

“Entering active service is just a starting point. Long-term training and adaptation are necessary to achieve initial operational readiness,” he told the Post.