Top honours for engineers spotlight China’s gains in military technology

Researchers elevated to national academy for contributions to plane engines and carrier launch system

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The awards highlight China’s growing prowess in key areas of advanced military technology. Photo: PLA Navy

Published: 2:00pm, 23 Nov 2025

Key scientists behind China’s latest stealth fighter and aircraft carrier have been promoted to one of the country’s top scientific academies in recognition of their contributions to advances in military technology.

The honours also highlight the global lead Chinese military technology has taken in a number of areas.

Wang Yongqing, the chief designer and expert of the J-35A stealth fighter; Huang Weina, the lead designer of the WS-19 engine for the J-35 series; and Lu Junyong, a key researcher behind the Fujian carrier’s electromagnetic catapult system, were among the 71 new members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering announced on Friday.

Election to the academy is widely considered the highest recognition in engineering and technology in China, reserved for scientists and engineers who have made exceptional contributions to their fields.

Lu, 47, is a core member of Ma Weiming’s team at the PLA Naval University of Engineering that designed China’s electromagnetic catapult system.

Ma, who came up with the steam-catapult idea, became the academy’s youngest member in 2001 at the age of 41.

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