China’s domestically-built third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, conducted its maiden voyage trial on the morning of the 1st of this month. According to the progress of the carrier construction project, this sea trial mainly aimed to verify the reliability and stability of the Fujian’s power, electrical, and other systems. Chinese military experts analyze that the Fujian’s sea trial can be divided into two main aspects: equipment-related and personnel-related.
Military expert Song Xiaojun, in an interview with CCTV, stated that the sea trial of the Fujian is estimated to be slightly longer than that of the Liaoning and Shandong carriers because it incorporates many new technologies. These new technologies not only require individual technical maturity but also coordination among them to form an integrated system, which also needs to meet design standards.
Song Xiaojun cited electromagnetic catapults as an example, requiring a success rate of one failure in 4000 or 5000 launches. Therefore, from this perspective, its sea trial may take a bit longer, not because the warship is incapable, but to meet the threshold and standards for future naval construction of similar vessels. This may contribute to better future naval construction.
Song Xiaojun pointed out three main differences between the sea trials of the Fujian ship and the previous two aircraft carriers. Firstly, he emphasized that the Fujian ship was designed and built entirely domestically from scratch, unlike the previous two carriers which were influenced by a Soviet carrier and thus not starting from scratch.
Secondly, the Fujian ship has a much larger tonnage compared to the Liaoning and Shandong ships, potentially allowing for more equipment and functionalities. Additionally, the Fujian ship incorporates new technologies that may be more advanced than those of the previous two carriers. For example, the adoption of electromagnetic catapults introduces many new technologies along the entire chain, such as power systems, all of which need to undergo sea trials. Therefore, this is also why the sea trials of the Fujian ship have garnered significant attention.
Song Xiaojun stated that the PLA Navy is about to enter the era of three aircraft carriers, meaning that one could be in maintenance in the factory, one in training status, and one on combat duty, allowing the Chinese Navy to maintain a carrier presence in relevant important areas at all times.
Song Xiaojun analyzed that since the Fujian uses electromagnetic catapults, the sortie rate of its carrier-based aircraft may be higher than the previous two carriers. Therefore, it may be more suitable for carrying out key missions in certain important sea areas. Due to the adoption of this technology and undergoing trials at sea, including repair and improvement, the technology will become more mature. This will provide valuable practical experience for the PLA Navy’s next step in building similar or possibly larger types of aircraft carriers. From this perspective, the Fujian’s inclusion in the sequence of Chinese naval carriers after sea trials can be said to make a significant contribution to the future development of the PLA Navy.