Summary and Key Points: China’s latest aircraft carrier, Fujian, has entered its seventh round of sea trials, increasing its operational readiness ahead of commissioning.
-Satellite images captured maneuverability tests, including tight turning circles, and shock resistance assessments, involving simulated underwater explosions to test survivability.
China Aircraft Carrier. Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot.
-Fujian is China’s first carrier featuring an advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System (EMALS), previously exclusive to the U.S. Navy.
-Observing Russia’s naval struggles in Ukraine, China emphasizes extensive crew training and damage-control preparedness.
-If tests succeed, Fujian could join China’s fleet this year, making China the second nation after the U.S. to operate three aircraft carriers simultaneously.
China’s Fujian Aircraft Carrier Now in Sea Trials
China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has recently put its newest aircraft carrier and only flattop to sea for the vessel’s seventh set of sea trials.
The performance and combat environment testing of the most advanced aircraft carrier in the fleet, the Fujian, has recently increased in tempo in what appears to be a desire to bring the ship’s commissioning date forward.
Commercial images of the carrier have been seen previously as the carrier was put through testing regimes prior to this current set. But brand new images surfaced this past Friday on social media sites. These images supposedly were captured over the weekend as the satellites that took the imagery passed over the Bohai Sea near the northeastern region of the PRC.
The Hong Kong English-language South China Morning Post (SCMP), which published these photos, stated that it could not verify their authenticity. The paper may have prompted this qualifier due to legal concerns.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is well-known for its pathologically secretive approach to military security.
It is likely, said one former NATO intelligence officer who spoke to me, “the SCMP is making this statement to cover their ass” and to keep from being accused of acting to confirm sensitive information about the carrier’s capabilities at sea “or the ability of commercial satellite firms to spy on the PLAN.”
Capabilities Tested of Aircraft Carrier
One element of the ship’s performance that appeared to be undergoing testing was the carrier’s steering, turning, and maneuvering capabilities.
Specialists who spoke to the SCMP concluded this. They observed that “straight trails can be seen in the wake of the Fujian, along with circles of decreasing diameter,” which they explained demonstrates a high “level of maneuverability by the 80,000-tonne vessel.”
Images posted on Saturday, 29 March, and later distributed by the satellite observation account @RemoteSensingDong, showed a large cloud near the starboard section of the Fujian. Several commentators told the SCMP that this was most likely a water plume generated by a shock test.
The same specialists explained that these shock resistance tests are conducted in order to determine any carrier’s ability to survive underwater explosions that could be caused by enemy mines and torpedoes.
A Hong Kong-based military commentator, Liang Guoliang, who spoke to the SCMP, said the explosion was “very close and powerful” and that it had been directed at the most vulnerable section of the ship rather than towards the bow or the stern. According to Liang, similar tests were conducted on the CV 17 Shandong, as it was the first ski-ramp carrier entirely built in the PRC.
These tests are obviously designed to ensure that the carrier would be able to maintain operations under combat conditions even if it had suffered damage from enemy strikes at sea. Tests of this kind are always conducted on any PLAN ship, which is the first type based on its design. Since the Fujian is the first flattop configuration, it will be submitted to more tests than any of the successive models built to the same design.
Training and Personnel
The PLAN, says Chinese military analysts who also commented to me, are also taking note of how poorly the Russian Navy has performed in the war with Ukraine. The sinking of the Moskva guided missile in April 2022 showed clearly that the on-board training for the Russian ship’s crew was bereft of any appreciation of the need for damage control in the event of an accident or attack at sea.
One consequence is that the PLAN is not only assessing the ship’s ability to survive a torpedo hit or a mine explosion but also evaluating the crew’s training for competently responding to an emergency of any kind at sea.
The Fujian is the PLA Navy’s third aircraft carrier, but it is also the first carrier to be equipped with an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System (EMALS), a technology previously confined to the USS Gerald Ford.
China Aircraft Carrier Models. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
When the Fujian departed the Shanghai shipyard on 18 March for this seventh round of sea trials, it was assumed the carrier would also be testing out the electromagnetic launching system and arresting cables using fixed-wing fighter jets, likely both the Shenyang J-15 and the J-35B.
The Fujian was launched in June 2022 and began sea trials in May 2024. Provided all the testing and trial runs are successful, the carrier could be delivered to the PLAN this year.
Once it is in service, the PRC will be the only nation besides the US to have at least three carriers in active service.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is now an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
