China launched its third aircraft carrier named ‘Fujian’ on June 17. Fujian is China’s most advanced as well as the first “fully domestically built” naval vessel.
- The launching ceremony of ship ‘Fujian’ was held at the Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard. Fujian is the name of China’s eastern coastal province of Fujian.
- China’s first aircraft carrier, the ‘Liaoning’, was a refit of the Soviet-era ship commissioned in 2012 followed by the indigenously built 2nd aircraft carrier ‘Shandong’ in 2019.
- Liaoning and Shandong are names of two provinces of China. China plans to have around five aircraft carriers.
- The next aircraft carrier China plans to build is expected to be nuclear-powered.
- The Type 003 warship with a hull number of 18, is the first carrier in China’s fleet to use an electromagnetic catapult to launch planes from the deck, which is faster than the older steam catapult system.
