China's First Indigenously Designed Carrier Marks Major Expansion of Carrier Aviation

China has formally commissioned its third aircraft carrier, the CNS Fujian, marking a major step in the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s expansion into carrier aviation using electromagnetic catapults. The ceremony took place on November 5, 2025, at a naval port in Sanya, Hainan, where Chinese President Xi Jinping presided, boarded the ship, inspected the vessel and posed with representatives of the carrier unit, according to state news agency Xinhua. Fujian is China’s first indigenously designed carrier built to a CATOBAR configuration (catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery). Unlike China’s first two carriers - Liaoning and Shandong - which use ski-jump ramps, Fujian’s flat deck features electromagnetic aircraft launch systems (EMALS), placing China in a small club with the United States’ Ford-class carriers that use similar technology. EMALS enables launches of heavier, more diverse aircraft with higher fuel and weapons loads than ski-jump systems.