China adds third aircraft carrier to fleet, boosting blue-water presence
Iran Press TV
Friday, 07 November 2025 2:31 PM
China's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier has officially entered military service, marking a major step in expanding the country's blue-water naval capabilities.
The Fujian — China's third, most advanced, and largest aircraft carrier reaching 316 meters in length — was commissioned on Wednesday at a military naval port in Hainan, Chinese state media announced on Friday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and over 2,000 naval officers and construction personnel attended the commissioning ceremony of the domestically-built warship, CCTV said.
The first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was made by the former Soviet Union. China's second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, was built in China based on the Soviet model. Both vessels used a ski-jump launch system for aircraft takeoff.
The latest aircraft carrier features three electromagnetic catapult systems on its flight deck, CCTV reported. The USS Gerald R. Ford is the only other warship in the world featuring such a launch system used in the takeoff of larger aircraft.
China's new carrier-based jets — the stealth-fighter J-35, the heavy-fighter J-15T, and the early-warning aircraft KJ-600 — are all capable of taking off from the Fujian.
PLA has undergone rapid modernization under Xi's leadership, with the focal point being to enable Chinese forces to compete against the US military. The US Navy has 11 aircraft carriers in military service at present.
China has set 2035 as the deadline for the modernization of its military at a "basically complete" level. By 2049, the Chinese military plans to be at a "world-class" level.
Military experts say Chinese aircraft carriers could play a crucial role in the event of conflict over Chinese Taipei, the wayward island across the Taiwan Strait that Beijing sees as an inseparable part of its territory.
China's three aircraft carriers — the Liaoning, the Shandong and the Fujian — are all named after Chinese territories.
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