Is China’s Fujian aircraft carrier counting down to a catapult take-off test?

He also said the radar systems in the photo included advanced active electronically scanned arrays, or AESAs.

“That is the same one used on the Type 055 cruiser and the Type 052D destroyer, meaning that a sea trial may start anytime,” Lu said.

Radars did not appear to be installed in the control tower island (left) when the Fujian was launched on June 17, 2022, but the most recent photo (right) shows the fit-out is almost complete. Photo: Weibo

The J-15T is an updated version of the J-15 fighter jet and has been equipped to work with the new catapult system.

The aircraft is the country’s only active carrier-based fighter jet and has been deployed on China’s two other aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong.

Military enthusiasts have followed the development of J-15T since 2021 when photos of the aircraft began circulating on Chinese social media platforms.

Ground-based flight tests of the J-15T are understood to have started many years ago in the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s training base in Xingcheng, Liaoning province.

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China launches the Fujian, the PLA Navy’s 3rd aircraft carrier

Zhou Chenming, a researcher with the Beijing-based Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank, said Chinese engineers have continued to modify the electromagnetic catapult system since its launch a year ago.

“After more than one year of calibration, now it’s time to make sure that the flight test of the J-15T can be completed by the end of this year,” Zhou said, adding the schedule could be between August and October.

“Ensuring safety is still the top priority for such a highly sophisticated weapon system, and if it is not ready by August, then [the PLA] can aim for [National Day on] October 1.”