Photo: China’s J-35 takes off from Fujian aircraft carrier in 1st EMALS launch of a 5th-gen fighter
September 23, 2025
China has crossed a major threshold in naval aviation with the first catapult launch of its J-35 stealth fighter from the new aircraft carrier Fujian.
The take-offs, conducted with an electromagnetic catapult rather than a traditional ski-jump, mark the first time a 5th-generation fighter has flown from an EMALS-equipped aircraft carrier.
Footage released by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and state broadcaster CCTV on 22 September also showed launches of the J-15T Flying Shark and the KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft.
Together, these trials confirm that Fujian can operate a mix of stealth fighters, multirole strike aircraft, and carrier-borne AWACS—capabilities previously unique to the United States.
The PLAN said the tests demonstrated that the ship had “attained electromagnetic catapult and recovery capabilities, representing another breakthrough in China’s aircraft carrier development.”
Fujian breaks US exclusivity on EMALS catapult technology
Until now, the US Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford was the world’s only carrier fitted with electromagnetic catapults. While Ford has successfully launched F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and E-2D Hawkeyes, it has not yet flown an F-35 using EMALS.
That distinction now belongs to China, giving Beijing symbolic bragging rights as the first to launch a stealth fighter with the technology.
Chinese state media seized on the achievement. The Global Times hailed it as “a milestone in the transformation of the navy,” while analysts in Beijing described it as evidence that China has “broken a long-standing US monopoly.”
Fujian vs Ford vs Vikrant: How China’s new carrier compares globally
China’s Fujian is the country’s first domestically designed “supercarrier,” displacing around 80,000 tonnes and equipped with three EMALS catapults.
It is conventionally powered, using turbines and diesel generators, and is expected to carry around 50 aircraft, including the J-35, J-15T, KJ-600, helicopters, and electronic warfare types.
- Fujian (China): 80,000 tonnes, three EMALS catapults, ~50 aircraft, conventional propulsion.
- Gerald R. Ford (US): 100,000 tonnes, four EMALS catapults, 75+ aircraft, nuclear propulsion with unlimited endurance.
- INS Vikrant (India): 40,000 tonnes, ski-jump deck, ~30 MiG-29Ks, no fixed-wing AWACS capability.
This places Fujian technologically ahead of regional carriers such as India’s Vikrant or China’s own earlier ski-jump carriers Liaoning and Shandong. But it remains short of America’s nuclear-powered giants in displacement, range, and sortie generation.
Fujian: Challenges and limits for China’s carrier programme
Despite the breakthrough, challenges persist. Unlike the US Navy’s nuclear carriers, Fujian must refuel regularly, limiting the duration and range of deployments.
The PLAN also has less than two decades of carrier aviation experience compared with over a century for the US Navy.
Mastering large-scale deck operations, logistics chains, and integrated strike group deployments will take time.
Independent analysts note that while the PLAN can now launch advanced aircraft, building the operational culture to use them effectively remains a work in progress.
China’s Fujian carrier trials and their Indo-Pacific strategic impact
The trials’ timing was pointed. Earlier this month, Fujian crossed the Taiwan Strait before entering the South China Sea, where the tests are believed to have taken place. The carrier’s appearance coincided with a visit to Beijing by a US congressional delegation.
“China is the most rapidly growing military in the world. The US has the biggest,” said Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the US House Armed Services Committee. “It is dangerous for us not to be having regular communications about our capabilities and intentions.”
State media amplified the milestone with posters, subway displays, and online videos, underscoring its role as a symbol of national pride and technological achievement.
China’s Fujian carrier milestone: What the J-35 launch means
The launch of the J-35 and KJ-600 brings China closer to its long-stated ambition of a “blue-water navy” able to project power far beyond its shores. The PLAN now fields three carriers—Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian—with the latter offering a capability leap.
Three types of carrier-based aircraft, including J-15T, J-35 and KJ-600, completed catapult launch and landing training on board the PLANS Fujian for the first time this year, demonstrating the Fujian’s capability of electromagnetic catapult and recovery operations. pic.twitter.com/XATTs1yCtu
— ChinaNavy (@China_Navy) September 22, 2025
“The J-35 makes China only the second nation after the US to field a fifth-generation carrier-based stealth fighter,” Wang Ya’nan, editor of Aerospace Knowledge, told Global Times. “My estimation is that Fujian will have the most combat-efficient carrier aviation force in the world.”
While such claims are open to debate, the underlying message is clear: China has ended the era of US exclusivity in electromagnetic launch systems and demonstrated it can operate stealth fighters from an indigenous supercarrier.
China’s Fujian has not yet closed the gap with America’s nuclear-powered carriers, but its successful J-35 launch marks a decisive step forward. For Beijing, the achievement signals both technological maturity and growing strategic reach, even as the PLAN continues the long process of mastering complex carrier operations.
