‘Fujian’ - aircraft carrier

Why in news?

Fujian is China’s 3^rd & most advanced aircraft carrier, officially commissioned into service on November 5, 2025.

• Fujian – China’s 1^st fully indigenously designed & built aircraft carrier, marking a significant advancement in its naval modernization efforts.
• Propulsion – Diesel-fuelled warship (world’s largest conventionally powered).
• Displacement – 80,000–85,000 tonnes

Features 

• Electromagnetic Catapult Launch System (EMALS) – 1^st Chinese carrier to use EMALS, replacing ski-jump ramps used on Liaoning and Shandong.
  • Fujian is China’s 1^st aircraft carrier & the 13^th globally to adopt this technology (11 U.S &  1 French).

EMALS - A modern catapult that uses a linear induction motor to launch aircraft instead of steam.

• Flat Deck Design – It is designed to facilitate efficient aircraft operations and higher sortie rates, comparable to U.S. Navy’s Ford-class carriers.
• Combat Capability – Offers greater strike range and higher sortie rates by accommodating aircraft with heavier fuel and weapon payloads.
• Limited range - Fujian’s diesel-fuelled propulsion restricts its operational endurance, unlike U.S. nuclear-powered carriers that can function for years without refueling.
• Multi-Aircraft Launch Capability – Can launch 3 types of aircraft, including those with heavier payloads and longer strike range.
• No match for American carriers – Still, US has the fleet of 11 carriers would be larger than a combined fleet of all other aircraft carriers in the world (China (3); India, the UK and Italy have two each; and France, Russia and Spain one each).

USA, the only country, other than China to have an aircraft carrier with electromagnetic catapult system.

• Symbolic Naming – Named after Fujian province, which directly faces Taiwan across the strait—seen as a deliberate geopolitical signal.

References

1. Indian Express | China gets new aircraft carrier ‘Fujian’
2. BBC | China launches new aircraft carrier ‘Fujian’