Satellite Image Captures China’s Newest Aircraft Carrier

The most advanced but yet-to-be-commissioned Chinese aircraft carrier, CNS Fujian, has been spotted inside a dry dock by satellites after a series of sea trials over the past nine months.

The Chinese military did not immediately respond to Newsweek‘s request for comment.

Why It Matters

The Fujian is one of three aircraft carriers launched by China. Unlike the ski jump-equipped “flattops,” CNS Liaoning and CNS Shandong, which use a less advanced aircraft takeoff system, the Fujian features electromagnetic catapults that enable it to launch heavier aircraft.

The 80,000-ton Fujian is the second domestically built Chinese aircraft carrier following the Shandong. In 2022, it was launched at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai and began its first sea trial in May 2024. The Pentagon expects it to be operational in the first half of 2025.

The Chinese military has yet to announce its commissioning date.

What To Know

According to a photograph captured by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites on Wednesday, the Fujian was moved to a dry dock at Jiangnan Shipyard. It was pierside at the shipyard as of January 12, Newsweek‘s weekly update showed.

Alex Luck, an Australia-based naval analyst, reposted an aerial photograph from Chinese social media to X (formerly Twitter), showing the Fujian inside the dry dock. He said the aircraft carrier is now undergoing maintenance after completing six rounds of sea trials.

The Fujian returned from its most recent sea trial on January 7 with tire marks visible on its flight deck, a close-up photo showed. It was not clear whether these marks were left by touch-and-go landings or by conventional launches and recoveries.

A touch-and-go landing involves the landing and immediate takeoff of an aircraft from a flight deck.

China’s first aircraft carrier, the Soviet-built Liaoning, was commissioned in 2012 after completing 10 sea trials in 13 months, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Shandong went through nine sea trials in 18 months before entering service in 2019.

Prior to the Fujian‘s latest test at sea, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said last month that the sea trials are a standard part of the aircraft carrier’s construction process, and subsequent tests will be conducted as construction advances.

What People Are Saying

The Pentagon’s latest report on Chinese military power reads: “[The Fujian‘s] design enables it to support additional fighter aircraft, fixed-wing early-warning aircraft, and more rapid flight operations, thus extending the reach and effectiveness of the PRC [People’s Republic of China]’s carrier-based strike aircraft.”

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said in a press release in May 2024: “The sea trial of aircraft carrier Fujian is a normal arrangement during its building process and does not target any specific objective, region, or country…China remains steadfast in pursuing the path of peaceful development and a defense policy that is defensive in nature.”

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen whether the Fujian will conduct another round of sea trials before being commissioned into service.