China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered into service on Wednesday at a grand ceremony in Sanya, Hainan province, according to state media reports on Friday.
The Fujian is China’s most advanced warship and its first aircraft carrier to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults.
Its inauguration makes China only the second country, after the United States, to operate a carrier with this aircraft launch technology.
President Xi Jinping attended the ceremony and boarded the Fujian afterwards to hear briefings on aircraft carrier combat capabilities and the use of its electromagnetic catapults, according to state news agency Xinhua.
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What is known about the Fujian, China’s first home-designed aircraft carrier
What is known about the Fujian, China’s first home-designed aircraft carrier
The report also said the decision to use the catapult technology on the Fujian was made by Xi himself.
Xi was briefed by the ship’s commanding officers and spoke to Fujian warplane pilots about the aircraft’s technical and tactical performance and the advantages of electromagnetic catapults, Xinhua reported.
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