China testing stealth fighter jet for its third aircraft carrier: Report

China was testing a new stealth fighter jet called J-35 to be deployed on its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which was equipped with an electromagnetic catapult unlike the other two fitted with ski-jump take-off ramps, official media reported on Sunday.

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A new type of warplane was tested earlier this year on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, state-run Global Times quoted official broadcaster CCTV as saying. It added that the new aircraft could be the long-expected J-35 — China’s next-generation carrier-borne stealth fighter jet.

China currently has two aircraft carriers, Liaoning, a refit of the Soviet-era ship, and Shandong, an indigenously built 2nd aircraft carrier commissioned in 2019. China’s third aircraft carrier, Fujian, is larger than the two carriers, with a displacement of 80,000, and is currently undergoing trials.

It was the “first fully domestically developed and constructed” aircraft carrier with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) similar to that of the American aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, official media reports said.

China’s other two aircraft carriers are equipped with ski-jump take-off ramps, while the Fujian features a flat-top flight deck. China operates its indigenously built J-15 aircraft for its carriers. Global Times quoted experts as saying that the CCTV report was an official confirmation that China now had a new-type carrier-borne aircraft ready

for service.

Undergoing trials

• China currently has two aircraft carriers, Liaoning, a refit of the Soviet-era ship, and Shandong, an indigenously built second aircraft carrier commissioned in 2019.
• Its third aircraft carrier, Fujian, is larger than the two carriers, with a displacement of 80,000, and is undergoing trials.