China on Wednesday began sea trials of the Fujian, its most advanced and first homemade aircraft carrier, state media said.
The sea trial was announced by state news agency Xinhua in a brief report that said the Fujian was unmoored from its dock at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai at about 8am.
The Fujian, first launched in June 2022, is China’s first aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults, which enable the vessel to launch aircraft more regularly.
The first signs of preparations came on Tuesday when rare maritime traffic controls were announced around the mouth of the Yangtze River, effective from 4.30am to 3pm on Wednesday, which military experts said could be paving the way for the trial.
The Jiangnan shipyard, where the carrier was built, is located at the mouth of the Yangtze.
Another notice on Tuesday from the maritime authorities said that “military activities” would be carried out in the East China Sea from 7am on May 1 to 9am on May 9, and that “unrelated vessels” were prohibited from entering a designated rectangle of water.
According to the Xinhua report, the initial sea trials “will primarily test the reliability and stability of the aircraft carrier’s propulsion and electrical systems”.
“Since its launch in June 2022, the Fujian has completed its mooring trials, outfitting work and equipment adjustments. It has met the technical requirements for sea trials,” it added.
The Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier and the first built to a domestic design. The People’s Liberation Army Navy plans to have six carriers in total by 2035, which would make it the world’s second largest blue-water navy after the United States.
Wednesday’s inaugural trial will be the first of many for the Fujian, with several years of trials needed before it is ready for service. China’s existing carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, underwent 10 and nine trials, respectively.
The USS Gerald R Ford — the only other aircraft carrier in the world with electromagnetic catapults — was commissioned in 2017 but did not go out on its first deployment until 2022.
The Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, was originally a half-built Soviet Kuznetsov-class vessel that was refitted before being commissioned in 2012.
The PLA Navy’s second carrier, the Shandong, is based on the Liaoning design. Like the Fujian, they are conventional carriers.
The Fujian is said to be China’s “supercarrier”, more advanced than the previous two, which are smaller and use less efficient ski-jump ramps to help aircraft take off.
Taiwan’s defence ministry has warned that the Fujian would pose a “substantial threat” to the island, which Beijing regards as part of its territory, in the event of a cross-strait conflict.
Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington opposes any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to arming the island to help it defend itself.
The Fujian is China’s first aircraft carrier with electromagnetic catapults, which enable it to launch aircraft more regularly. (Photo: South China Morning Post)