China’s advanced Fujian carrier conducts ‘intensive’ eighth sea trial
J-35 stealth fighters also carry out tests and flights, but it is not clear if the jets were launched from the Fujian’s hi-tech catapults
China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has undergone an “intensive” eighth sea trial, according to state media.
Its ship-borne fifth-generation J-35 stealth fighters, fitted for catapult launch, have also carried out tests and flights, according to a Saturday report by state broadcaster CCTV.
The report did not specify whether the J-35 jets were being launched from the Fujian.
A local maritime safety administration issued traffic control warnings for Wednesday morning for the area near the mouth of the Yangtze River as the Fujian left the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai and sailed towards open waters.
The Fujian is the People’s Liberation Army’s third carrier, and its first equipped with advanced electromagnetic catapults. The report said the Fujian would “greatly enhance” the abilities of the Chinese navy in offshore defence as well as long-distance sea escort operations once it entered service.