China commissioned its third plane provider, the Sort 003 Fujian (CV-18), throughout a ceremony on Nov. 5, 2025, marking a significant milestone within the PLAN’s provider aviation improvement.
China formally introduced the commissioning of the Sort 003 Fujian plane provider on Nov. 7, 2025. The occasion, which befell on Nov. 5, was attended by senior political and army management together with Chairman Xi Jinping, and formally positioned the ship into energetic service following almost three years of pier-side work, methods testing, and sea trials.
2025年11月5日，中国第一艘电磁弹射型航空母舰CV-18福建舰入列授旗仪式在海南三亚某军港举行。中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平出席入列授旗仪式并登舰视察。 pic.twitter.com/YesyaXYcUX
— Fay (@FaySue6) November 7, 2025
The ship will now start a interval of continued trials and work-up because the PLAN prepares to completely combine the brand new vessel into its combating power, alongside the older CV-16 Liaoning and CV-17 Shandong.
A number of plane have been seen on deck throughout Xi’s go to, together with two J-35s, two J-15Ts, two KJ-600s, and two Z-20Fs. That is the primary time the Z-20F has been seen on the provider, and so they every carried missiles from the YJ-9 household of sunshine AShMs (Anti-Ship Missile). The older Shandong was additionally seen within the background, with its personal complement of J-15Ts and Z-18s.
Though footage from the occasion solely emerged two days later, proof of its commissioning emerged a pair days prematurely of the particular ceremony. Actually, on Nov. 3, a ‘army coaching train’ was declared across the base for the timeframe between Nov. 4 and Nov. 6; on Nov. 4, images confirmed service members lining up on the deck to man the rails and the appliance of the pennant quantity ‘18’ on the ship’s hull.
On the identical day, an Air China 747-8 presumed to be carrying Chairman Xi departed Beijing and arrived at Hainan Island, the place the ceremony occurred. Each the Fujian and the Shandong have been additionally seen adorned with flags.
The Fujian and its Air Wing
The Fujian is China’s first indigenously designed plane provider, and the second solely on the planet to characteristic an EMALS (ElectroMagnetic Plane Launch System), following the U.S. Navy’s CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford. It is usually the primary provider on the planet to launch a fifth-generation fighter utilizing the system, because the Ford is at present unable to function the F-35C on account of troubles with its EMALS.
The vessel, which was constructed within the Jiangnan Shipyards situated to the east of Shanghai, was launched on Jun. 17, 2022, and commenced sea trials just below two years later in Might 2024. After conducting a complete of eight sea trials, the vessel was noticed transiting the Taiwan strait on Sep. 12, 2025, headed in direction of the SCS (South China Sea) for additional testing.
The PLAN introduced on the identical day that the Fujian was launched into a “cross-regional trial and coaching train”, an integral half to pre-service testing. This time, it didn’t return to Shanghai and as an alternative docked at Sanya, the place as we speak’s commissioning ceremony befell.
The naval base at Sanya, on the southern finish of Hainan Island, stays one of the vital strategically essential services for the PLAN. Serving as its major headquarters for SCS operations, its location locations it inside fast attain of disputed islands and key maritime chokepoints within the area. Notably, the bottom helps each provider strike group exercise and homes hardened, underground infrastructure for China’s SSBN fleet, highlighting its significance to the PLAN.
Simply northeast of the port lies Lingshui Airbase, operated by the PLANAF and finest recognized internationally for the 2001 EP-3 incident. Collectively, Sanya and Lingshui type the core of China’s southern maritime power-projection community, underscoring Hainan Island’s rising significance within the PLAN’s regional actions.
The Fujian is posed to function with a considerably extra superior air wing in comparison with its older counterparts, the Shandong and Liaoning, centered across the next-generation J-35 and the J-15T – the catapult-capable variant of the J-15. The ship may also characteristic the brand new J-15DT EW (Digital Warfare) jet and KJ-600 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Management) plane.
Notably, all 4 fixed-wing varieties are pretty new, with the oldest, the J-15T, being formally unveiled in late October 2024. The J-35, J-15DT and KJ-600 solely simply made its public debut on Sep. 3, 2025, when it participated within the parade marking the eightieth Anniversary of the tip of WWII over Tiananmen sq..
