Chinese state media has released new images of the Chinese Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier to date, Fujian.

Wow😮CCTV 13 just a few minutes ago released this: either a glimpse from the moment, the PLANS-18 "Fujian" was transferred into the dry dock a few days ago or beginning of the sea-trials? pic.twitter.com/n3Ezhinua5

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) January 2, 2024

The new Fujian aircraft carrier was first unveiled in June 2022, while it was designed and built entirely by the domestic defence industry.

Although it has yet to conduct its first sea trials, the aircraft carrier is larger and more technologically advanced than the Shandong, which entered service in 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted domestically.

Footage on Chinese state television shows the new aircraft carrier, also known as Type 003, being towed by smaller vessels as it is said to be conducting a mooring test.

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Fujian began launch tests for the electromagnetic catapult system in November, according to Chinese newspaper Global Times. In addition to the Ford-class aircraft carriers, Fujian will be the only aircraft carrier in the world equipped with the latest Electro-magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS).

The Chinese version of EMALS can deploy more types of aircraft than the Shandong or Liaoning and will also be more reliable and energy efficient, marking a milestone in the modernization of the Chinese Navy. The J-15 and J-35 aircraft are expected to be deployed from the new aircraft carrier.

President Xi Jinping has repeatedly called for increased combat readiness and technological advances ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 2027.

With information from: Reuters

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