Let’s meet the fleet. First up is the Liaoning. Think of her as the elderly, but still cool, uncle of the family. She’s a Soviet-era hand-me-down that China lovingly rebuilt and launched in 2012.
She’s a training ship, mostly. She teaches pilots how to land on a moving runway the size of a postage stamp. Fun, right? She’s also a real warship, but she’s not the star of the show anymore.
Then we have the Shandong. Launched in 2019, she’s China’s first home-built carrier. She’s like the Liaoning’s slightly beefier, more modern cousin. Same basic design, but with fewer quirks.
She’s a legit combat vessel. China says she’s “fully operational.” That means she can punch with her full deck of J-15 fighter jets. Scary stuff, right?
And finally, the baby of the family: the Fujian. Launched in 2026, she’s the game-changer. She’s massive. And she uses something called electromagnetic catapults. That’s the same fancy tech the US Navy’s newest carriers use.
She hasn't joined the fleet yet. She’s still doing sea trials, shaking out the kinks. But when she’s ready? Whoa. She’ll launch jets faster and heavier than anything China has now.
