China’s latest aircraft carrier showcases new fighter jet launch system. Only the US has the same tech

Hong Kong 

China’s latest and most capable aircraft carrier has used its new electromagnetic catapult to successfully launch three types of aircraft, according to Chinese state media, which released footage of the launches for the first time to mark the technological breakthrough.

In footage released by state broadcaster CCTV on Monday, China’s fifth-generation J-35 stealth fighter, 4.5-generation J-15T fighter and KJ-600 early warning and control aircraft were seen taking off from the Fujian aircraft carrier using its advanced launching system, also known as EMALS.

State media the tests as another “breakthrough” in China’s aircraft carrier development and a “milestone” in advancing its naval transformation.

The only other aircraft carrier in the world that has the EMALS system is the US Navy’s newest carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, which was certified for flight deck operations using the EMALS system in the spring of 2022.

The development comes as a US Congress delegation is in Beijing for talks aimed at bolstering bilateral exchanges including military-to-military communication, in the first such visit to China in six years.

The successful tests on the Fujian, which included both catapult launch and arrested landing, mean the ship’s commissioning – when it officially enters the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet – could be only a few weeks away, said analyst Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain.

Nuclear power gives the US carriers the ability to remain at sea for as long as crew provisions last. The Fujian is powered by conventional fuel, meaning it must either make a port call or be met by a tanker at sea to refuel.