The launching ceremony of China’s third aircraft carrier was held at the Jiangnan Shipyard of China State Shipbuilding Corporation On Monday morning. Xu Qiliang, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the ceremony.
At 11:00, the launching ceremony began, the audience sang the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China, the five-star red flag slowly rose. Xu qiliang awarded the naming certificate to the commander of the picking up force and jointly cut the ribbon with military and civilian leaders for the launching of China’s third aircraft carrier. Then a bottle-throwing ceremony, champagne bottles smashed the bow of the ship, the ship whistled, the dock door opened, the aircraft carrier slowly moved out of the dock, docked. The launching ceremony ended with the singing of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
China’s third aircraft carrier has been named fujian of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA) and its hull number is 18, according to the central Military Commission (CMC). Fujian is China’s first fully independently designed and built catapult-type aircraft carrier. It has a long straight-through flight deck, electromagnetic ejection and blocking devices, and a full displacement of over 80,000 tons. After launching, the ship will carry out mooring tests and sea trials as planned.
Here is the report from US Department of Defense and they claimed the dispatchment would reach to 100 000 tons. The Type 003 carrier is expected to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults, which will improve the range/payload capability of the fixed-wing aircraft it carries.
