China has begun the sea trials of its newest aircraft carrier, Fujian, believed to be the country’s most advanced and biggest. This comes two years after India inducted its first indigenously made aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. While it will take a while for either carrier to reach its full potential, here’s how they stack up

China made another splash on 1 May as its newest, largest and most-advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, left Shanghai’s Jiangnan shipyard for its maiden sea trials.

Its assessment is expected to take place in the East China Sea, about 130 kilometres from the Jiangnan Shipyard where the carrier has been under construction for more than six years, according to Shanghai’s Maritime Safety Administration.

“The sea trials will primarily test the reliability and stability of the aircraft carrier’s propulsion and electrical systems,” read an announcement from the state-run Xinhua news agency on Wednesday.

A South China Morning Post report citing military experts said the trials would take at least another year, with the first phase focusing on power, navigation and communication systems that support the catapult and all-electric integrated power system.

What does the advent of the Fujian on the world’s oceans mean for the balance of naval power? How does it compare to India’s aircraft carrier?

About Fujian

The Fujian is named after the Fujian province on the south-eastern coast of China, facing Taiwan. This third carrier follows China’s old tradition of naming them after the provinces of Liaoning and Shandong.

Experts note that the naming of the third aircraft carrier after Fujian is strategic and can be seen as a direct message to the self-ruled island of Taiwan and a demonstration of China’s blue-water naval capabilities.

The Fujian, which follows the Liaoning and Shandong, was first launched in June 2022 and the first built to a domestic design. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) plans to have six carriers in total by 2035, which would make it the world’s second largest blue-water navy after the US.


The Fujian is China’s most advanced aircraft carrier and was built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited. The Fujian is said to be China’s “supercarrier”, more advanced than the previous two, which are smaller and use less efficient ski-jump ramps to help aircraft take off.

It is about 1,035 feet long, and displaces about 80,000 tonnes fully loaded. This makes it slightly larger than its predecessors. Among Fujian’s upgrades is a command island that is slimmer and more refined than those of its predecessors, freeing up space on the flight deck.

It is also the nation’s first aircraft carrier to utilise Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALs) for launching aircraft from the deck instead of a ski ramp used by Liaoning and Shandong carriers. Fujian also has a flat-top flight deck for smooth take-offs and landings. In fact, the Fujian has replaced the short take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) system with the catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) system, which is used on US aircraft carriers.

EMALS is the newest complete carrier-based launch system, which accelerates aircraft take-off speed. It also enables a carrier to launch a broader variety of aircraft, especially those with heavier payloads.

Analysts told CNN that Fujian’s ability to launch larger warplanes carrying higher munitions loads to farther distances will give the carrier a greater combat range than its predecessors in the Chinese fleet, providing the PLAN with so-called “blue-water” capabilities.

It’s important to note that while the Fujian will be more advanced than its Chinese predecessors, it will still be conventionally powered rather than nuclear-powered. However, according to a Telegraph report this one feature won’t be of much significance.

In addition to all of this, the Fujian will also have a larger airwing — the number of aircraft it can hold. It is expected to have an airwing of 60 aircraft, including J-35 stealth fighters, Z-20F helicopters, and the KJ-600 airborne early-warning aircraft and even carrier-based drones.

The Fujian is China’s most advanced aircraft carrier and was built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited. The Fujian is said to be China’s “supercarrier”, more advanced than the previous two, which are smaller and use less efficient ski-jump ramps to help aircraft take off. AP

Comparing It To INS Vikrant

Keeping in mind, the rivalry between India and China, New Delhi will be keeping a close watch on the Fujian.

However, it will be interesting to see how China’s carrier stacks up to India’s newly-inducted indigenously-made INS Vikrant .

INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously-made aircraft carrier, was inducted into the Navy in 2022 and with that India joined a small club of nations able to build its own such warships.

The INS Vikrant is 262 metre long and 62 metre wide. While this makes it India’s largest , it is smaller than the Fujian which is 316 metre long. Moreover, the total displacement of INS Vikrant is about 45,000 metric tons. Compare this to Fujian, which boasts of a total displacement of approximately 80,000 metric tons.

INS VIKRANT
FUJIAN
860 Feet Length 1035 Feet
45,000 Metric Tons Displacement 80,000 Metric Tons
28 Knots Max Speed 31 Knots
1,700 Sailors Crew 2,000 Sailors
30 Aircraft Air Wing 60 Aircraft

The INS Vikrant is crewed by about 160 officers and 1,400 sailors and is powered by four gas turbines capable of generating 88 megawatts of power and of pushing it to a top speed of 28 knots. It can carry about 30 jets and helicopters, and like INS Vikramaditya , it uses a STOBAR system with a ski-jump ramp. According to a Business Insider report, Vikrant’s initial air wing is expected to be made up of MiG-29Ks, the carrier version of the Russian-made MiG-29.

On the other hand, the Fujian’s air wing will consist of J-35s and more.

According to an Al Jazeera report, while the INS Vikrant is impressive, it still is a generation behind the design of China’s Fujian.

As Brian Hart, a fellow with the China Power Project at the CSIS, told CNN, “The Fujian will be the most visible symbol of China’s growing naval power.”

The Telegraph also noted that when it came to aircraft carriers, the US continued to hold the edge over the others with its USS Gerald R Ford , with the Fujian being the closest contender. At it stated: At the moment, then, there are two tiers of carrier operators: the US Navy and everyone else.

(With Agency Inputs)