Named after the province closest to Taiwan, China's third aircraft carrier weighs 80,000 tons, carries 50 stealth aircraft, and uses electromagnetic catapults that launch 12 fighters per hour.

Named after the province closest to Taiwan, China’s third aircraft carrier weighs 80,000 tons, carries 50 stealth aircraft, and uses electromagnetic catapults that launch 12 fighters per hour.

Written by Douglas Avila

Published on 15/04/2026 at 21:52

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The aircraft carrier Fujian was incorporated into the Chinese Navy in a ceremony presided over by Xi Jinping, it is 316 meters long, has three electromagnetic catapults and capacity for more than 50 aircraft, including fifth-generation stealth fighters

On November 7, 2025, President Xi Jinping presided over the ceremony that officially incorporated the aircraft carrier Fujian into the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China. With 80,000 tons of displacement and 316 meters in length, the ship entered the supercarrier category.

The Fujian is the third Chinese aircraft carrier and the first designed entirely in China. Its predecessors, the Liaoning and the Shandong, used ski-jump ramps to launch aircraft. The Fujian abandoned this system.

Instead of ramps, China installed three electromagnetic catapults known as EMALS. This technology allows heavier fighters to be launched, with full fuel tanks and maximum weapon loads.

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Fujian aircraft carrier’s electromagnetic catapults surpass American launch rate

The Fujian’s three EMALS catapults can perform 12.5 aircraft launches per hour. This number exceeds the average of 10 launches per hour of American Ford-class aircraft carriers.

This difference may seem small, but in combat operations it represents 25% more aerial sorties in the same period. More aircraft in the air mean more projection power.

The Fujian is only the second aircraft carrier in the world to use electromagnetic catapults. The first was the USS Gerald R. Ford, commissioned in 2017 by the United States Navy.

Military fighter being launched by electromagnetic catapult from the Fujian aircraft carrier

Unlike the steam catapults used for decades on American ships, EMALS cause less stress on aircraft, occupy less space, and require less maintenance.

Pentagon reports cited by Opera Mundi indicate that the Chinese version of EMALS has demonstrated superior reliability to the American one. This assessment worries US military analysts.

The Fujian’s air wing can accommodate more than 50 aircraft. Among them are J-35 fighters, which feature stealth technology, J-15T heavy combat aircraft, J-15D electronic warfare aircraft, and the KJ-600 early warning aircraft.

Aircraft carrier Fujian versus USS Gerald Ford: how China compares to the world’s greatest naval power

The Fujian weighs between 80,000 and 85,000 tons. The USS Gerald R. Ford reaches 100,000 tons. The difference exists because the American ship uses nuclear propulsion, while the Chinese one operates with conventional steam turbines.

In length, the Fujian measures 316 meters against the Ford’s 337 meters. In width, both are similar: 76 meters for the Chinese.

Two aircraft carriers sailing in formation in the ocean in an aerial view

The Ford carries 75 aircraft against the Fujian’s 50, but the Chinese launches more fighters per hour. While the American fleet has 4 EMALS catapults, the Fujian operates with 3.

The Fujian’s crew consists of 2,500 members. The ship reaches a maximum speed of between 29 and 31 knots, propelled by engines with a total power of 280,000 horsepower.

Other warships that China has built in recent years include giant 400-meter cargo ships, consolidating the country’s position as the largest naval construction power on the planet.

The name Fujian is no coincidence: the province is on the other side of the Taiwan Strait

The Chinese government named the aircraft carrier after Fujian province. This choice carries symbolic weight. Fujian province is located exactly on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.

Construction of the ship began in 2018 at the Jiangnan Shipyard, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. The assembly of the main hull blocks occurred in mid-2020.

The official launch took place on June 17, 2022. The first sea trials occurred in May 2024, in the Yangtze River estuary.

Naval command room with strategic Indo-Pacific map projected on screen

With full operational capability expected by 2026, the Fujian alters the balance of forces in the Indo-Pacific. China will have an aircraft carrier capable of operating far from its coasts, projecting power in disputed waters.

According to Global Military, the ship features Type 1130 CIWS defense systems and HQ-10 surface-to-air missiles for close protection.

As reported by BE Horizon, the Fujian represents “a new era for Chinese naval aviation,” with the ability to operate a diversified air wing that includes light drones launched by electromagnetic catapults.

The USS Gerald Ford recently faced a fire in the Red Sea that left injuries and exposed operational vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, the Fujian advances without public incidents.

However, it is important to note that the Fujian’s conventional propulsion limits its autonomy compared to nuclear-powered ships like the Ford. Furthermore, the full capability dates are projections — actual combat tests have not yet occurred, and the capacity of 50 aircraft is an estimate that may vary in practice.

The aircraft carrier Fujian transforms China from a coastal naval power into a force capable of operating in distant oceans. For the coming years, analysts expect the ship to conduct training in distant waters, validating its operational capability and consolidating China’s position as the second largest navy in the world.

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Named after the province closest to Taiwan, China’s third aircraft carrier weighs 80,000 tons, carries 50 stealth aircraft, and uses electromagnetic catapults that launch 12 fighters per hour.

The aircraft carrier Fujian was incorporated into the Chinese Navy in a ceremony presided over by Xi Jinping, it is 316 meters long, has three electromagnetic catapults and capacity for more than 50 aircraft, including fifth-generation stealth fighters

Fujian aircraft carrier’s electromagnetic catapults surpass American launch rate

Aircraft carrier Fujian versus USS Gerald Ford: how China compares to the world’s greatest naval power

The name Fujian is no coincidence: the province is on the other side of the Taiwan Strait

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Named after the province closest to Taiwan, China’s third aircraft carrier weighs 80,000 tons, carries 50 stealth aircraft, and uses electromagnetic catapults that launch 12 fighters per hour.

The aircraft carrier Fujian was incorporated into the Chinese Navy in a ceremony presided over by Xi Jinping, it is 316 meters long, has three electromagnetic catapults and capacity for more than 50 aircraft, including fifth-generation stealth fighters

Fujian aircraft carrier’s electromagnetic catapults surpass American launch rate

Aircraft carrier Fujian versus USS Gerald Ford: how China compares to the world’s greatest naval power

The name Fujian is no coincidence: the province is on the other side of the Taiwan Strait

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

While the U.S. still faces limitations in deep space, China is developing unprecedented technology with strategic satellites that maintain communication with the far side of the Moon and aims for dominance by 2030.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

The Blood Falls of Antarctica hide a living ecosystem trapped under the ice for over 2 million years, where microbes survive without light, without oxygen, and without ever having seen the Sun.

Bavarian archaeologists unearthed a medieval skeleton that had an articulated iron hand in place of its left arm, and the discovery reveals that doctors were already creating sophisticated prosthetics over 500 years ago.

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