PLA Navy's third aircraft carrier ship successfully completes maiden voyage

As one of the most important pieces of military hardware China is working on, the Fujian was officially unveiled in June 2022 in Shanghai as it was towed out of China State Shipbuilding Corp's Jiangnan Shipyard.

When sailing, the gigantic vessel will displace more than 80,000 metric tons of water. It will be the largest and mightiest warship any Asian nation has ever built, as well as the world's biggest non-American aircraft carrier.

The ship will use an electromagnetic launch system, or electromagnetic catapult, to launch fixed-wing aircraft. This new system will give the carrier a much greater combat capability than its two predecessors, which use a ramp to launch jets.

Currently, the Navy operates two aircraft carriers — the CNS Liaoning and the CNS Shandong. Both with a standard displacement of around 50,000 tons and a conventional propulsion system, and they use a ski jump method for launching fixed-wing aircraft.

Compared with its two predecessors, the Fujian is much bigger and heavier, and has a larger flight deck and smaller superstructure.

The Liaoning underwent 10 sea trials before going into service, and the Shandong conducted nine before its commissioning.