NEW DELHI: China commenced water studies for its next and most advanced aircraft ship, the Fujian, on Wednesday.
The Chinese military began conducting tests nearly two years after the plane company’s unveiling in June 2022.
The Fujian, completely conceived and constructed internally, surpasses both the Shandong, commissioned in soon 2019, and the Targets, which China acquired next- hand from Ukraine in 1998, in terms of size and technological advancement.
According to CCTV, the Fujian embarked on its sea trial journey from a shipyard in Shanghai shortly after 8 a. m. ( 0000 GMT ).
The development of the Fujian is essential to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s strategy of positioning China as the region’s dominant military power, which has a “blue-water” army capable of projecting strength much beyond China’s southern restrictions.
The Fujian’s name comes from the Chinese province that is directly in the middle of Taiwan, which has a full-length, level flight deck with a catapult-launch system for jets.
Recently stationed at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard, the Fujian underwent extensive tests.
The last stage of the sea trials is when China’s military formally commissions the aircraft carrier into services.
Now, the United States possesses the largest number of aircraft operators, with 11 ships and nine airplane- carrying amphibious assault ships.
