China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, is undergoing its seventh sea trial, raising expectations that it could be commissioned this year.
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The world’s largest conventionally powered warship left the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai for the trial on Tuesday afternoon. The Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration had issued a traffic control warning for the area around the mouth of the Yangtze River for that time.
Photos posted on social media showed the 80,000-tonne aircraft carrier on the move, and it did not appear to have any large aircraft on its flight deck as it did for previous sea trials. That has drawn speculation that this time the warship’s advanced electromagnetic catapults and arresting cables could be put to the test, using fixed-wing fighter jets.
If that is the case, it would be the first known full operation test of the Fujian’s ship-borne fighters – the J-15T or J-35 – carrying out catapult launch and arrested landing at sea. That would bring it a significant step closer towards delivery to the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
Military observers say that if the testing goes well, the warship could be delivered within this year. The PLA Navy will have three active aircraft carriers when the Fujian enters service – only surpassed by the US Navy, which has 11.
In the last two sea trials – based on tyre marks seen on the deck of the Fujian afterwards – it is believed a “touch and go” operation was carried out, where an aircraft touches down and immediately accelerates and takes off again.
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