The launch of China’s Fujian aircraft carrier is widely regarded as a key development in the country’s maritime capabilities and one that directly threatens U.S. dominance in the Pacific. As China’s first fully indigenous carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapult launch systems, the ship represents a significant advance in Chinese naval engineering and a clear statement of Beijing’s intent to field a globally capable force. While the milestone aligns with China’s long-term military modernization plans, it also raises critical questions about the future balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and the evolving nature of China’s operational strategy.

A Technological Break from China’s Earlier Carrier Designs

The Fujian differs fundamentally from the Liaoning and the Shandong, both of which relied on ski-jump ramps inherited or adapted from earlier Soviet concepts. Those carriers’ older capabilities limited aircraft takeoff weight, restricted sortie generation, and prevented the operation of heavier fixed-wing support aircraft essential for modern naval aviation.

The Fujian, by contrast, is equipped with three EMALS catapults, a leap that brings China closer to the technological standards of U.S. Ford-class carriers. EMALS improves energy efficiency, supports the launch of heavier aircraft, reduces mechanical stress on airframes, and enables more flexible sortie management cycles. For Chinese naval planners, this capability is central to the long-term goal of building a truly “blue water navy” capable of sustained operations at distance.

Early trials reinforce this shift. China has already demonstrated the launch and recovery of a new suite of carrier aircraft, including the J-35 stealth fighter and the KJ-600 airborne early-warning (AEW) platform. The latter is especially consequential: fielding a fixed-wing AEW aircraft dramatically expands sensor coverage, command-and-control reach, and the carrier group’s reaction time to high-end threats. This capability moves China closer to the doctrinal........

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