Fujian is China’s first domestically produced aircraft carrier design.
New Delhi:
China’s first super-large aircraft carrier, the 80,000-ton warship Fujian, has returned to port after a short sea trial. The aircraft carrier is the most advanced warship of its class built by China and represents an important milestone in China’s land and naval capabilities.
The Fujian, or Type 003, aircraft carrier was China’s first indigenous aircraft carrier design and the first to utilize an integrated propulsion system and electromagnetic catapults. The electromagnetic catapult, which replaces the traditional steam-powered catapult, is intended to launch aircraft reliably and precisely from the Fujian deck. The U.S. Navy remains considered the most technologically advanced navy in the world, and is the only navy to deploy this technology on aircraft carriers.
The Fujian aircraft carrier is equipped with a new integrated propulsion system and electromagnetic catapult.
Fujian is now expected to begin testing the carrier-based aircraft soon, and trials could take up to a year before the warship is declared operational in all respects.
China’s path to developing an aircraft carrier is part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen its naval capabilities and expand its military capabilities, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was originally a Soviet-era ship that was purchased from Ukraine in 1998. At the time, the aircraft carrier was unfinished and unused. She was then refurbished and commissioned into the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in 2012. The Liaoning has been used primarily for training purposes and as a symbol of China’s growing military status.
China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was acquired from Ukraine in 1998.
Shandong, China’s second aircraft carrier and first domestically built aircraft carrier, was launched in April 2017 and commissioned in December 2019. The ship is a significantly modernized variant of the Liaoning and saw operational deployments with the Shenyang J. -15 “Flying Shark” fighter, a heavily modified Chinese variant of the Russian-designed Sukhoi-33 fighter.
Furthermore, the Chinese Navy is currently developing the J-35, a carrier-based stealth fighter that is expected to be operational in the future. The J-35 is designed to operate from China’s newest aircraft carrier, Fujian.
The Indian Navy currently operates two aircraft carriers: INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. For more than a decade, the Indian Navy has wanted a larger, more capable aircraft carrier, but it was rejected by successive governments concerned about the prohibitive costs of developing, manufacturing and operating it.
According to reports, it will cost India $7 billion (Rs. 56,000 crore) to build a Fujian-class aircraft carrier. The cost of the new fighter jet could be a further total of $8 billion (Rs. 65.92 billion).
India operates two aircraft carriers: INS Vikramaditya (distant) and INS Vikrant.
For the time being, the government is considering giving the green light to a small aircraft carrier of the same size as INS Vikrant. The government is also in talks with France’s Dassault to acquire 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for Vikrant at a cost of around $8 billion (Rs 65.92 billion). The Rafale-M will replace the older and less reliable Russian-made MiG-29K jets in service with Vikrant.
As of May 2024, nine countries operate frontline aircraft carriers. These countries are the United States, China, Italy, United Kingdom, India, Japan, France, Spain, and Russia. The United States leads the way, with 11 airlines, significantly more than any other country.
