China is preparing a new aircraft carrier for combat deployment. It’s supposed to keep the Americans away from Taiwan

China’s third aircraft carrier Fujian, already fully developed and built by the communist superpower, has begun a test cruise and tests of its propulsion and other electronic systems on board. The largest non-US vessel ever, measuring 316 meters in length, is intended to fundamentally increase China’s striking power throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, according to The Diplomat website.

Beijing has been rapidly building up its naval muscles in recent years to deter the United States, a traditional ally of Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan or South Korea, from using its military naval capabilities in disputed areas in the South China Sea and the strait between mainland China and Taiwan – by wan.

The very name of the new aircraft carrier, Fujian, refers to the southern Chinese province that borders the Taiwan Strait. China’s state news agency New China announced, without further details, that the aircraft colossus left the Shanghai shipyard in early May and embarked on its first test voyage.

Launched in mid-2022, the vessel is China’s first aircraft carrier to be equipped with advanced electromagnetic catapults for fighter launches. In addition to fighter-bombers, anti-submarine helicopters can also launch from the ship.

The Chinese side has not released details on the technical details of the ship, but according to Japanese sources, Fujian may have 60 to 70 aircraft on board, including J-15 fighters (similar in design to Russia’s Sukhoi Su-33) and KJ-600 early warning and control aircraft.

The first two aircraft carriers of the Middle Kingdom are not of original Chinese design. The Liao-ning is a converted Soviet aircraft carrier that Beijing bought from Kiev in 1998 and commissioned in 2012. It has a gross displacement of 58,500 tons and a length of 305 meters. The Chinese built a second aircraft carrier based on the same Soviet design and named it after the province of Shandong. The full displacement is estimated at 70 thousand tons and the length is 315 meters. The Navy has been using it since 2019.

According to The Diplomat server, the deployment of a new aircraft carrier in the South China and East China Seas is intended to prevent American aircraft carriers, as well as other air forces, from entering this area. China, on the other hand, will strengthen its capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region to conduct electronic warfare and conduct anti-submarine missions.

According to the Pentagon, Fujian will be put into active service by the end of 2024. Beijing is keeping secret whether the Chinese naval novelty is already equipped with nuclear propulsion.

A recent report to the US Congress, on the other hand, states that the operation of Chinese aircraft carriers is plagued by a number of problems, especially regarding the quality of training of sailors and ship’s personnel for the performance of combat missions. “In a combat situation involving hostile US naval and air forces, Chinese aircraft carriers would be highly vulnerable,” the January report said. But Beijing presents the completion of the aircraft carrier as proof that the Asian country has become a military global power.

The United States currently has ten nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carriers (the new Chinese aircraft carrier is roughly the same size as the American class) and is building new Gerald R. Ford-class vessels. The first one has been in service since 2017 and the other two are under construction. They are 337 meters long and have a full displacement of 101,600 tons.