China Launches Third Aircraft Carrier, First with Electro-magnetic Catapult System

China launched its third and most modern aircraft carrier, the Fujian, in Shanghai on Friday with delivery scheduled to the PLA Navy in two or three years.
The carrier, named after Fujian Province, was completely designed and built by China. The new carrier was put into the water at a launch ceremony that started at about 11 a.m. on June 17.

It is China's first domestically-made carrier that uses electro-magnetic catapults. With a full-load displacement of more than 80,000 tonnes, the carrier is equipped with electro-magnetic catapults and arresting devices.

Only the U.S. has Electro-magnetic Catapult launch technology and has provided it to with close allies such as the U.K. and France.

Even Russia does not have this technology which indicates that Beiing has forged ahead of its former supplier of military hardware in terms of technology development.
Xu Qiliang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), presented a naming certificate to the navy unit receiving the carrier.
Approved by the CMC, the Fujian was given the hull number 18.

The new carrier will conduct mooring tests and sea trials as scheduled.

Electro-magnetic catapult launch and arrested landing will allow the Fujian to handle a greater number of landing and take off than carriers with ski-jump take-off runway such as on the earlier aircraft carriers - Shandong and Liaoning.
After the launch, outfitting work will be finished, fully furbishing the ship with equipment like fuel pipes, gas pipes, electric devices and weapons systems, Global Times reported.

Since this is China's first large aircraft carrier equipped with catapults, the outfitting works might take longer than usual to make sure everything is done properly, it said.
A number of sea trials will be carried out after the outfitting work is complete, and the aircraft carrier will hopefully be delivered to the PLA Navy in two to three years.