China’s Aircraft Carrier Fujian Commissioned into Service
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Al-Nashra, China’s third aircraft carrier was officially put into service during a ceremony attended by President Xi Jinping.
The official xinhua news agency reported Friday that President Xi participated in the commissioning ceremony and flag handover of the carrier fujian in Hainan Province, and boarded the vessel for an inspection tour.
The Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier featuring a flat flight deck and electromagnetic catapults for launching aircraft. This advanced technology makes it a significantly more powerful naval asset compared to China’s earlier carriers, which were based on Russian designs.
The Fujian can carry many more heavily armed fighter jets than the smaller Liaoning and Shandong carriers, both of which rely on ski-jump ramps for takeoff.
In sea trials before commissioning, china tested new versions of its stealth fighter J-35, an early warning KJ-600 aircraft, as well as updated variants of its older J-15 fighter onboard this carrier.
The induction of the Fujian marks a milestone in President Xi Jinping’s drive to modernize China’s military and enhance its naval capabilities amid rising tensions with Taiwan and ongoing regional disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
