SINGAPORE — China has published photos and videos of its carrier aircraft launching by catapult off its newest aircraft carrier, the first time this capability has been showcased.
The visuals, first published by the official social media channels of the Chinese military and the People’s Liberation Army’s 81.cn news portal, showed the Shenyang J-15T, J-35 fighters and Xi’an KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft being launched from the Fujian’s electromagnetic catapults.
They also showed the three types of aircraft landing and conducting deck operations on board the Fujian out at sea.
The release comes less than three weeks after the military parade in China’s capital Beijing, where all three types of aircraft took part in the flyby following the ground segment of the parade. State media reported that the launches took place before the parade, though they did not provide an exact date.
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The official reports added that the operations demonstrated the compatibility of China’s domestically developed electromagnetic catapults and arresting system with multiple types of carrier-based aircraft.
“This has enabled the Fujian to achieve preliminary full-deck operational capability, laying a solid foundation for the integration of various types of carrier-based aircraft into the carrier battle group system,” the PLA report said.
The Fujian has been conducting a series of sea trials since May 2024. It is currently conducting further sea trials and training in the South China Sea, having transited through the Taiwan Strait earlier this month.
The ship will become China’s third carrier and the first to be equipped with a catapult launch system, enabling the operations of heavier aircraft like the KJ-600 to operate on board. China’s first two carriers are the Liaoning and Shandong, which have a ski jump to launch J-15 fighter jets.
Liaoning is the former Admiral Kuznetsov, a Soviet-era ship that China bought as an uncompleted hulk from Ukraine that it then refurbished and put into service. Shandong is an improved version of the Liaoning that was built domestically.