China flexes western Pacific muscle with Fujian launches: analysts

SCMP | Sept. 23, 2025, 8:14 a.m. | Original

In this undated photo released on Tuesday by Xinhua, a J-35 stealth fighter jet takes off from the Fujian, a Chinese aircraft carrier, at an undisclosed location. Photo: Xinhua via AP

in Beijing and in Hong Kong

The successful launch of fighter jets from China’s most advanced aircraft carrier signals the country’s enhanced military influence in the western Pacific, analysts have said.

The Fujian is China’s first fully domestically designed aircraft carrier and the world’s largest conventionally powered warship, with a displacement of more than 72,500 tonnes.

The carrier is equipped with three advanced electromagnetic catapults, making it the second aircraft carrier in the world, after the US Ford-class, to possess this technology.

In another undated photo released on Tuesday by Xinhua, crew members signal to the pilot of a J-35 stealth fighter jet for a take-off on the flight deck of the Fujian at an undisclosed location. Photo: Xinhua via AP
In another undated photo released on Tuesday by Xinhua, crew members signal to the pilot of a J-35 stealth fighter jet for a take-off on the flight deck of the Fujian at an undisclosed location. Photo: Xinhua via AP

CCTV released footage on Monday showing the successful electromagnetic catapult launches of the J-15T fighter, the J-35 stealth fighter and the KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft from the Fujian, stating that they marked a leap forward for the Chinese naval aviation force.

The launches made China the second country to have a carrier-based stealth fighter ready for deployment, after the US.

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