China Launches First Super Aircraft Carrier

China’s latest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, appears poised to leave port to begin initial sea trials. The development comes soon after five aircraft mockups appeared on the deck of the flattop, as you can read about here, and a little over three months since we got our best view of the warship in its completed form. Once the Fujian goes to sea, it will mark a hugely important step in the development of the country’s naval aviation, with the carrier being the first of its kind to be fully locally designed and also China’s first to launch aircraft via catapults rather than by a ‘ski jump’ takeoff ramp.

Imagery that was posted on social media today shows the aircraft carrier leaving its moorings at the Jiangnan Shipyard, on Changxing Island, at the mouth of the Yangtze River to the north of Shanghai. The warship is seen moving under its own power while being attended to by several tugboats, with signal flags displayed on its island superstructure.