VESSEL REVIEW | Fujian – Locally built aircraft carrier for Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will soon place a new aircraft carrier (CV) into operational service.

Honouring the province of the same name, the future Fujian (福建) will be the PLAN’s third aircraft carrier after Liaoning and Shandong. However, unlike the two earlier CVs, Fujian was designed and built locally, whereas Liaoning is the ex-Soviet Navy carrier Varyag while Shandong, despite having been built in China, had adopted a design based on that of the Russian Navy’s flagship Admiral Kuznetsov.