China is bragging about its brand new, top-class aircraft carrier

It's a rarity: China's state media has published photos of the newest aircraft carrier, the “Fujian”. The aircraft carrier was launched in 2022.

Beijing – The Chinese military already had two Russian-designed aircraft carriers, and the “Fujian” was added more than a year ago. Photos of the warship are rather rare, which makes it all the more astonishing that images have now been published by Chinese state media.

The special thing about the air force base is that – unlike its predecessors – it was built in China. “Fujian” is also the figurehead and is seen as a sign of China’s growing military power tagesschau.de wrote about the christening of the warship. However, it will probably be a few years before the aircraft carrier is fully equipped and ready for use.

Chinese state media presents the modern aircraft carrier

Now you can take a look at the state-of-the-art air base as Chinese media have published images of the newest aircraft carrier Fujian. Loud Forces.net The three starting rails of the catapult system can be clearly seen in the photos. The 80,000-ton warship has an electromagnetic catapult – a special feature because a larger selection of aircraft can take off in addition to the common steam catapult.

With the “Fujian”, which has not yet had to undergo sea trials, the People’s Republic has three aircraft carriers. However, the warship of 2022 is larger and more technological than its two predecessors, Shandong (2019) and Liaoning (1998).

Great concern about China's military buildup

China's military buildup has been watched with concern for years. In addition to the US Navy's Gerald R Force class carrier aircraft, the Fujian is the only ship to have a next-generation electromagnetic catapult. This is particularly noticeable in the dispute between China and neighboring countries on islands and sea areas.

Internationally, the USA has the most warships with eleven aircraft carriers. China and Great Britain are behind in comparison. Both forces have two operational aircraft carriers. China's “Fujian” is currently being equipped. (Denise Dörries)