All Three Chinese Aircraft Carriers Were at Sea for the First Time
24th September 2024
In the latest expression of China’s rapidly growing and modernizing naval power, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) recently, and for the first time, put three aircraft carriers to sea simultaneously. Of the three carriers involved in these activities, the Liaoning and the Shandong are by now well established with the Chinese fleet, while the Fujian, the country’s first domestically produced carrier, is still preparing for operational service. Ultimately, it’s expected to lead to more Chinese-made flattops as the PLAN continues to expand its naval aviation capabilities.
Publicly available data, collated below by journalist Ian Ellis, indicates that, as of last week, the Liaoning and its carrier group were operating in the Philippine Sea, with the Shandong and its carrier group just off Hainan Island. Meanwhile, the Fujian had already left Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai for another round of sea trials, with satellite imagery confirming that the three carriers were all sailing as of September 18. The carrier groups for the first two flattops each include at least four destroyers as well as a combat support vessel or frigate, very likely also accompanied by a hunter-killer submarine.
No indication of a flag bridge or a Primary Flight Control area on the one in the picture.