New Delhi: Beijing has taken its naval aviation to a brand new stage. The Individuals’s Liberation Military Navy (PLAN) showcased operations of its first catapult-equipped plane provider, the Fujian, with imagery confirming simultaneous exercise of the next-generation J-35 stealth fighters, J-15T single-seat fighters and KJ-600 airborne early warning and management planes.
KJ-600 pic.twitter.com/2ZCqsdPHCE
— OedoSoldier (@OedoSoldier) September 22, 2025
The footage exhibits the plane getting ready for catapult launches, taking off, performing arrested recoveries and flying in formation. It marks an unprecedented leap for Chinese language provider aviation.
空母福建でのカタパルト発進と着艦訓練を行うJ-15T、J-35、KJ-600の映像 pic.twitter.com/tqRONVyWjn
— OedoSoldier (@OedoSoldier) September 22, 2025
The provider’s deck additionally hosts the Z-9 helicopter, a license-produced variant of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, performing aircraft guard roles throughout launches and recoveries. The presence of the J-15D digital warfare variant alongside the trio demonstrates the total operational complexity.
First-ever official footage of flight operations aboard China’s latest, soon-to-be commissioned plane provider, CNS Fujian (18)
On the eve of the PLA’s 98th anniversary, PRC media launched video showcasing one other main milestone: integration assessments between the electromagnetic… pic.twitter.com/wIrU4hxFi6
— Ian Ellis (@ianellisjones) July 31, 2025
Fujian has been at sea trials since Could 2024, and official images in August hinted at fixed-wing operations, although takeoffs and landings had not been confirmed. The discharge of video displaying all three plane in energetic trials represents a major milestone for the Individuals’s Liberation Military Navy.
KJ-600が空母福建で電磁カタパルトを使用して発艦する pic.twitter.com/2EBsfxO1BI
— OedoSoldier (@OedoSoldier) September 22, 2025
The J-15T is a catapult-optimised by-product of the J-15. It’s a Chinese language adaptation of the Soviet Sukhoi Su-33. Not like earlier STOBAR carriers with ski-jumps, the T-model is designed to launch from electromagnetic catapults and permits larger operational weights and extra environment friendly deployments.
Tailored from the land-based FC-31, the J-35 is China’s first stealth provider fighter that has been constructed for catapult launch from the outset. Its debut aboard Fujian confirms China’s capability to deploy stealth and standard fighter jets concurrently in Catapult Assisted Take-Off However Arrested Restoration (CATOBAR) operations.
The KJ-600, China’s airborne early warning platform comparable in perform to the U.S. Navy’s E-2 Hawkeye, additionally made its first operational appearances. Three examples had been seen on deck, highlighting its function in enhancing command, management and situational consciousness at sea.
The Fujian’s electromagnetic catapults signify a technical leap. Testing started in 2023 whereas the ship was nonetheless in building.
Not like the U.S. Navy, which mastered steam-powered catapults over many years, Beijing has efficiently carried out Electromagnetic Plane Launch System (EMALS), enabling exact launches for plane starting from the heavy KJ-600 to stealthy J-35 fighters. The J-35 turns into the primary stealth jet globally to launch from an EMALS-equipped provider.
空母福建のカタパルト発進するJ-15Tと空母山東のスキージャンプ発進するJ-15の比較 pic.twitter.com/2SrUkIZdU8
— OedoSoldier (@OedoSoldier) September 22, 2025
Observers say that the Fujian is prone to function superior uncrewed platforms sooner or later. EMALS’ flexibility will help drones and unmanned fight air autos, increasing the Individuals’s Liberation Military Navy’s operational envelope nicely past conventional fixed-wing aviation.
The Fujian venture illustrates China’s broader naval modernisation. Other than superior floor combatants and submarines, the Navy is reportedly creating a second CATOBAR provider, the nuclear-powered Sort 004.
The increasing provider fleet aligns with Beijing’s strategic ambitions, from potential intervention close to Taiwan to blue-water operations throughout the Pacific.
Other than being a provider, Fujian, for China, is an emblem of technological achievement and naval energy projection. With operational deployment anticipated by year-end, the Individuals’s Liberation Military Navy’s new provider and its superior air wing are poised to redefine regional maritime dynamics.