https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022 ... s-new-navy
Leviathan: China’s new navy
With its new aircraft carrier, the Fujian, China is leapfrogging current military technologies to challenge the might of the US navy.
The Chinese navy, under instruction from President Xi Jinping, has undergone a modernisation and expansion programme that is nothing short of spectacular. Friday’s launch of its third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, for sea trials underscores just how far it has come, and how fast.
The first two carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, were ex-Soviet designs; the Liaoning initially bought for scrap from Ukraine and refitted. While antiquated, they have been used to train new generations of naval officers and pilots in the complex science and art of aircraft carrier operations.
This new design of aircraft carrier is a quantum leap in capabilities from these older models and will greatly enhance China’s combat power.
Larger, more powerful
The Fujian is colossal: at 316m (1,037ft) long, it will weigh around 100,000 tonnes when fully loaded. Its electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) will accelerate jets taking off at speed, assisting their take-off with such force the aircraft will be able to carry more fuel and weapons, therefore extending the reach and size of the punch the aircraft carrier packs. Early warning aircraft will be able to take off and land more easily, enhancing the carrier’s ability to spot its enemies from further away.
EMALS is also able to launch more aircraft at a greater rate, getting more jets into the air faster than its opponents using older technologies – and is vital for defending itself against incoming attacks.
This latest feature gives the Fujian a significant edge, as only the United States’ latest Ford-class of aircraft carrier is equipped with it. France is slowly developing a similar system and India is examining its feasibility, but outside the US, only China employs this system. Its navy has yet to operate a nuclear-powered carrier, as the US has done for decades. The Fujian is conventionally powered but predictions are that the next one to be built by China will be nuclear-powered.