China blunts US Naval dominance with its third aircraft carrier

HONG KONG: After Fujian was commissioned on November 5, China now operates a fleet of three aircraft carriers. This makes the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) the world’s second-largest operator of carriers.

Nonetheless, this figure still falls someway behind the eleven carriers operated by the USA. The US Navy (USN) has dominated the Western Pacific since the end of World War II, but China’s growing naval power has blunted that ascendancy. China once lagged badly in aircraft carrier technology, too, but that situation is changing.

In fact, the arrival of Fujian constitutes a step change in capability for the PLAN. What is also remarkable is the rapid speed of China’s technological advancements. Additionally, the PLAN operates a fleet of large flattops from which helicopters can take off and land. It has four such Type 075 vessels, compared to nine comparable vessels in the USN, and four in Japan’s navy.

Of note, as it improves its ability to project power, the time for China to induct its latest Type 076 ship that can also launch armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is also drawing nearer.

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Addressing the Type 003 Fujian first, the importance of this new supercarrier bearing the pennant number ’18’ was made manifest by the fact that Chairman Xi Jinping attended the commissioning ceremony at Sanya Naval Base on Hainan Island. On the occasion, Xi pressed the catapult button and sent the launch shuttle flying forward “like an arrow leaving the string of a bow”, according to state media.

At Sanya, Fujian was moored symbolically alongside China’s preceding carrier, Shandong. These two carriers were constructed domestically by China, whereas the PLAN’s first one, Liaoning, had been built in Ukraine and destined for the Russian Navy.

However, Fujian is a considerable step up from Shandong. Whereas the latter is essentially a copy of Liaoning, the third carrier is much larger with an estimated displacement of 80,000 tonnes. It is approximately 320m long, has a beam of 78m and can reach speeds of 30kt.

Another primary point of difference is the way aircraft launch from the carrier’s flight deck. The first two carriers boast a ski jump ramp that boosts aircraft into the air in their attempt to get airborne from the short runway. Fujian, on the other hand, features an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS). This is essentially an electrically powered catapult that sweeps aircraft along the flight deck and into the air.

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Most USN carriers use steam-powered catapults, as opposed to electromagnetically powered ones. In the world today, only American Ford-class carriers use EMALS, of which one — USS Gerald R Ford — has entered service to date. This indicates how modern this technology is, and China’s mastery of it allowed it to completely skip steam catapults and move straight to EMALS.

Apparently, Xi personally made the decision to adopt electromagnetic catapults, of which there are three on the ship. Fujian also has an integrated power system based on conventional steam turbines and diesel generators.

EMALS confers a number of benefits, namely the ability to launch heavier aircraft, such as the KJ-600 airborne early warning type, that cannot fly from either Liaoning or Shandong. Furthermore, EMALS allows aircraft to launch at faster rates than before.

Speaking of the KJ-600, it is particularly important since it provides over-the-horizon detection and tracking of enemy aircraft and ships, and this data can be transmitted to other Chinese aircraft and vessels. Previously, the PLAN had to rely on radar-carrying helicopters, but the range and reach of the KJ-600 greatly eclipse those.

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Fujian can carry an air wing of around 60 aircraft, in contrast to 44 on previous carriers. These include J-15T carrier-borne fighters, similar-looking J-15DT electronic warfare fighters, stealthy J-35 fifth-generation fighters, and the aforementioned KJ-600s. The latter is a Chinese facsimile of Northrop Grumman’s E-2 Hawkeye aircraft manufactured in the USA.

In September, Chinese media aired video footage of these aircraft operating from the carrier during a sea trial. There are also anti-submarine warfare variants of the Z-20 helicopter aboard the supercarrier.

The construction of Fujian was first observed in Shanghai eight years ago. Its maiden sea trial occurred on 1 May 2024, and eight further trials followed as crews shook down this first-of-class vessel. It was built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) at Jiangnan Shipyard. Launched on 17 June 2022, the vessel was subsequently commissioned just three years and four months later.

Given that Fujian was commissioned in Sanya, this indicates the vessel has joined the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command alongside Shandong. Meanwhile, Liaoning is homeported at Qingdao in Shandong in the northeast.

With Fujian sallying forth from Sanya, China’s navy can better dominate the South China Sea and increase its threat level against Taiwan. Indeed, Chinese naval analyst Zhang Junshe told the Chinese tabloid Global Times that immediate access to the South China Sea will enable Fujian to conduct dual-carrier and “far seas” operations, as well as land attack and island support missions.

China was humbled after the 1995-96 Taiwan Strait crisis, when the USA sailed warships and aircraft carriers into the strait during a time of heightened tension. China was unable to threaten the American ships at that time. Since then, it has been almost an obsession to redress that imbalance.

Indeed, today it is a far different prospect, as American carriers would be under severe risk from Chinese weapons in any repeat of such military tensions. Beijing’s intention has always been that of denying access to areas close to its shores, and nowadays that basically includes anywhere within the so-called First Island Chain. Beijing’s eyes are fixated on Taiwan, cherishing a long-held dream of conquering the island nation.

The addition of yet another aircraft carrier gives the PLAN a better ability to circumnavigate the island and to launch attacks from the east. Every side of Taiwan is threatened by China now, whereas once it was mostly just the west coast.

Although Chinese carriers would be unlikely to lead an attack on Taiwan, they could play an important role in preventing or dissuading the USA from intervening to defend Taiwan. The US Pacific Fleet has bases in Japan, Guam and Hawaii, and the PLA would seek to block the USN’s access to Taiwan during any military contingency.

While Fujian is now under PLAN command, a series of trials and familiarisation voyages will ensue as the navy learns how to best operate the supercarrier. Operating such a ship is an extremely complex undertaking, and so the PLAN will have to move at a measured pace as it gets to grips with its newest asset.

This process will likely take several years until it reaches full operational status. Dr. Collin Koh, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told ANI, “Past reports, not all substantiated, put Chinese intentions to build at least six carriers, and perhaps up to eight.”

The Singaporean academic added, “Until the PLAN reaches a level of maturity with carrier operations, which are complex, and obviously it’s still a newbie compared to the more seasoned US Navy, it’s likely going to aim for six carriers.”

Such a number would permit two carriers to be at sea at any one time, with the four others in various stages of maintenance or work-up periods.

In May-June, the PLAN’s two older carriers performed drills in the Western Pacific east of Japan. At that time, their aircraft wings performed more than 1,100 sorties, showing just how quickly the PLAN has built up its carrier capability.

US naval analysts have pointed out one suspected flaw with the Fujian’s design, however. There is an overlap between the landing area and the location of the central jet blast deflector. This means that launches from the middle catapult likely cannot occur whenever landings take place.

Nonetheless, Chinese experts claim Fujian can still launch 300 aircraft sorties per day. A Chinese carrier task group will comprise around ten warships for protection. The associated strike group would include Type 055 cruisers armed with the latest YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missiles, for instance.

China is believed to be working on a fourth carrier, too. A large hull is under construction at Jiangnan Shipyard, and it is quite possible this one will be nuclear-powered, just as American carriers are. Such propulsion ensures plentiful energy is available to support power-hungry catapults, radars and other infrastructure.

Nuclear reactors increase a carrier’s range and endurance, since they do not have to refuel. Interestingly, in late 2024, academics at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California assessed that China had built a prototype reactor of the kind needed for an aircraft carrier. It was spotted via satellite imagery in Sichuan Province.

Furthermore, a carrier mock-up in Wuhan, typically used to test radars and practice manoeuvres, was enlarged this year with a new island superstructure. This again indicates that China’s fourth carrier will be even larger than Fujian.

Moving on to the second vessel type mentioned at the start of this article, the PLAN’s first Sichuan-class Type 076 amphibious assault ship recently took to sea for its maiden sea trial.

On November 16, the PLAN stated, “The Chinese PLAN Sichuan returned to the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai at 5:00 pm on November 16 after a three-day maiden sea trial. The ship’s propulsion, power and other key systems and equipment have been tested in the trial, achieving desired goals.”

The statement added, “Future trials will be gradually carried out according to the overall equipment construction plan.” This vessel, essentially a landing helicopter dock (LHD), is rather unique in the world today since it is designed to operate fixed-wing UAVs.

In fact, China has fitted a single EMALS catapult rail on Sichuan’s flight deck. This means it is capable of launching large, fixed-wing UAVs, as well as rotary-winged UAVs and helicopters.

Aerial imagery of the vessel in port showed a raised blast deflector on the flight deck, confirming the vessel can launch unmanned combat aerial vehicles like the jet-powered GJ-21. The GJ-21 flying-wing drone, a derivative of the GJ-11, possesses an internal weapons bay and it has a tailhook for arrested landings.

Sichuan displaces approximately 40,000 tonnes, and it has a dual-island superstructure on the starboard edge of the full-length flight deck. Two elevators serve this flight deck, so aircraft can be raised from and lowered to the hangar deck for maintenance and/or storage. There are three arrestor wires for recovering fixed-wing drones too.

Sichuan was built at Hudong-Zhonghua on Changxing Island in the Yangtze River delta. The LHD is some 252 long, and its flight deck is 45m wide. These dimensions make it one of the largest amphibious assault vessels in the world.

It is similar in scale to the USN’s current America-class LHDs, and bigger than France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. It has an internal well deck where landing craft and hovercraft can embark and disembark personnel and equipment.

The one aircraft type that the PLA does not currently have is a short-take-off-and- vertical-landing fighter similar in concept to the American F-35B. It seems logical that China is already working on such a fighter design for Sichuan and follow-on vessels in this Type 076 class.

The PLAN is already the world’s largest navy in terms of hull numbers, if not in tonnage or overall capability. Yet in just 13 years, the PLAN has gone from having no carriers whatsoever to having a trio of them. China concentrates the vast majority of its naval combat power — backed up by missiles that reach out from China’s coastline — in the Western Pacific.

However, with the arrival of vessels like Fujian and Sichuan, the PLAN has become an even more capable blue-water navy. With three carriers now available, we can expect the PLAN to increasingly traverse oceans and seas around the globe. (ANI)