At a ceremony at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard, China on Friday unveiled its third and most advanced aircraft carrier, with a new launch system that experts say is rapidly catching up with US technology.
Dubbed the “Fujian”, the ship is the first aircraft carrier with a catapult system designed and built in China, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Its assisted launch system is a major upgrade from the less advanced system used in Liaoning and Shandong, its two predecessors, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank.
The new method, similar to those used by US aircraft carriers, will allow China to launch a wider range of aircraft from Fujian faster and with more ammunition.
In addition to the launch system, the Fujian is equipped with blocking and shifting devices for a total load of more than 80,000 tons, Xinhua said, adding that the ship will carry out navigation tests after its launch.
Matthew Funaiole, senior fellow of the CSIS China Project, told CNN previously that the new ship would be the “first foray of the Chinese military into a modern aircraft carrier”.
“This is a very significant step,” said Funaiole. “They have really committed to building an aircraft carrier program and they continue to push the limits of what they are capable of doing,” she said.
China names its aircraft carriers after its coastal provinces, with Liaoning in the northeast and Shandong in the east. Fujian, in the southeast, is the closest province to Taiwan, separated by a strait less than 128 kilometers wide.
The Communist Party of China claims sovereignty over the democratic island, despite never having ruled it. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly said that “reunification” between China and Taiwan is inevitable and refuses to rule out the use of force.
The Chinese now have the largest naval force in the world, and aircraft carriers are the main ships in the fleet of any major power. These vessels are essentially a mobile air base, allowing for the rapid and long-term deployment of aircraft and weapons for combat.
China’s naval growth comes amid rising geopolitical tensions with the US, which under President Joe Biden is looking to strengthen ties with allies and partners in the Asia region to counter Beijing’s growing economic clout and military might.
Last year, China bristled over a security pact between the US, UK and Australia named Aukus, an agreement under which the three nations would exchange military information and technology to form a closer defense partnership in Asia.
naval rivalry
China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was an unfinished Soviet-era ship that Beijing purchased from Ukraine in 1998, upgraded and finally commissioned in 2012.
The Chinese military used the technological knowledge it gained from this vessel to internally build its first aircraft carrier, the Shandong, which entered service in December 2019.
But while China’s two initial aircraft carriers increased their naval power, their capability was still far behind the US, which has a total of 11 ships of this type in service. Furthermore, both Liaoning and Shandong were based on outdated Soviet technology.
Aircraft launched with Fujian’s new system can take off faster and with greater amounts of fuel and ammunition.
However, CSIS’s Funaiole said there are still signs the Chinese vessel is lagging behind its American counterparts, which have more catapults, a larger airway and more elevators to allow for faster deployment of aircraft.
All US aircraft carriers are also nuclear powered, while Fujian is believed to run on conventional steam propulsion, which Funaiole said would limit its range. “(Although) this may be a minor factor for China now as many of its interests are in the nearby seas,” he said.
After its launch, the Fujian will need to be tested and fully equipped before it can be commissioned and officially entered service.
Initially, the US Department of Defense estimated that the aircraft carrier would be ready for active service by 2023, but has now pushed that date back to 2024.
The Shandong aircraft carrier also took two years from launch in 2017 to when it finally entered service in 2019. In addition, Fujian may struggle to operate the new technology.
Even the US had difficulty using the same system on its last aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, leading to long delays in deployment.
Source: CNN Brasil
