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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

China’s third aircraft carrier Fujian tests power, navigation in maiden sea trial

  • No aircraft were visible on the carrier’s deck in official images and videos, with testing of its electromagnetic launch catapults expected in later trials
  • Chinese state media reported that the first homegrown carrier left its dock in a Shanghai shipyard at about 8am on Wednesday

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Well-wishers wave as China’s Fujian aircraft carrier leaves its dock in Shanghai on its maiden voyage to begin sea trials which are expected to take about a year. Photo: Xinhua
Jun Maiin Beijing,Yuanyue Dangin BeijingandHayley Wongin Beijing
The Fujian, China’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, left Shanghai’s Jiangnan shipyard on Wednesday morning to begin its maiden sea trial, but testing of the vessel’s cutting-edge catapult aircraft launching system is likely to be some way off.
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The sea trial was announced by state news agency Xinhua on Wednesday morning in a brief report which said the Fujian was unmoored from its dock at about 8am.

The Fujian, launched in June 2022, is China’s first aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults, which will enable the vessel to launch aircraft more regularly.

Military experts said the sea trials are expected to take at least a year, with the first phase focusing on power, navigation and communication systems that support the catapult and all-electric integrated power system.

Take-off and landing tests are unlikely to take place in the first sea trial, with images and video footage released by official media showing no aircraft on the carrier’s deck.

China’s third aircraft carrier the Fujian, just before leaving its dock at the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard to sail out for its first sea trial. Photo: Xinhua
China’s third aircraft carrier the Fujian, just before leaving its dock at the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard to sail out for its first sea trial. Photo: Xinhua

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.

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