The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has reportedly operated all three of its aircraft carriers for exercises or tests over the past week, marking the first time this has occurred. This show of naval strength comes ahead of the 12th anniversary of China’s commissioning of its first aircraft carrier, Liaoning.
China has so far commissioned two aircraft carriers—Liaoning and Shandong. Liaoning, a Soviet-era vessel, was commissioned in 2012, while Shandong is China’s first domestically built carrier.
The third carrier, Fujian, the largest and most advanced yet, is still undergoing sea trials and has not yet been officially commissioned. Fujian features a powerful aircraft launching system and represents a major technological leap for China’s naval capabilities.
According to a report from a publication closely aligned with the Chinese Communist Party, China’s aircraft carrier program is advancing rapidly. Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, stated that Liaoning recently conducted routine exercises in areas such as the West Pacific to strengthen its combat readiness.
Aircraft carriers typically operate on a cyclical deployment schedule, with only a portion of time spent on active missions. When not deployed, carriers rotate between transit, maintenance, crew rest, shore training, and short-term sea training. Both conventional and nuclear-powered carriers follow these cycles, which occur between major overhauls.
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Type 001
The Liaoning aircraft carrier, known as Type 001, was recently spotted near Taiwan and close to Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Chinese navy entered Japan’s economic waters, which extend 200 nautical miles beyond its territorial seas. The carrier was accompanied by warships, forming a Carrier Battle Group (CBG). This group moved from the East China Sea, passing between the Japanese islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote, and into the Philippine Sea.
The Global Times reported that the CBG conducted fighter jet and helicopter operations southeast of the Miyako Islands, an area of strategic importance for both the US and Japan. The Miyako Islands form part of the First Island Chain, a significant geopolitical boundary that plays a key role in US defense strategy. Japan expressed strong disapproval of the Chinese navy’s actions, calling the incursion into its contiguous waters “unacceptable.”
Type 002
The Shandong carrier (Type 002) recently hosted night operations certification tests for new fighter pilots during a combat exercise in the South China Sea, according to state media outlet CCTV. The exercise aimed to improve the carrier’s all-weather combat capabilities by enabling more fighter jets to operate on it during both day and night.
Type 003
The third carrier, Fujian (Type 003), began its fourth sea trial on September 3, as reported by Newsweek. Fujian, the most advanced aircraft carrier China has built, first began sea trials in May. Satellite imagery revealed that it recently conducted a replenishment test in the Bohai Sea. After departing from Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard, the carrier was expected to return to Shanghai by Saturday after completing trials in the Yellow Sea.
Fujian Aircraft Carrier
Weighing 79,000 tons, Fujian is equipped with the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), the same technology used by the USS Gerald R Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world. EMALS allows for smoother and more precise aircraft launches, enabling larger and heavier jets to take off.
The US Department of Defense, in a recent report on Chinese naval modernization, indicated that China is working on a fourth aircraft carrier similar to Fujian, which is expected to be nuclear-powered.
The Fujian, however, will be the first conventionally powered carrier to use the EMALS system. According to a Congressional Research Service report, China aims to develop its naval capabilities to deter potential US intervention in regional conflicts, particularly concerning Taiwan, or at least delay or diminish the effectiveness of US forces in such scenarios.
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