Testing CNS Fujian's equipment crucial task, vessel's captain says

The most important task for the crew of CNS Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier and now the world's largest conventionally powered warship, is to make in-depth tests and more trial runs of its equipment, said the colossal vessel's captain.

Senior Captain Chen Zhiguo told China Central Television on Saturday that he will lead the crew to race against time to further check the equipment's capabilities.

At the same time, they will make all-out efforts to prepare for the full-scale deployment of aircraft squadrons and to build joint combat capacity with other assets in the carrier strike group, he said.

The crew of the Fujian will "cleave through the waves to complete our missions set by the Communist Party of China and the people", Chen said.

The Fujian is the first in the People's Liberation Army Navy equipped with the cutting-edge electromagnetic catapult system and also the largest, heaviest, and mightiest naval hardware ever built in the Eastern Hemisphere.

The gigantic ship, which displaces more than 80,000 metric tons of water, entered service on Wednesday at a naval base in Sanya, Hainan province.

Senior Captain Leng Guowei, spokesman for the Navy, said on Saturday that Sanya has become the new carrier's home base for reasons including strategic demand, port conditions, support capacity, and mission requirements.

He said the Fujian will be sent to oceans far from China on a regular basis, noting that it will not be long before the full-scale deployment of aircraft squadrons begins on the supercarrier.

Leng said the development and improvement of weaponry by China does not target any country or specific objective, nor will it pose a threat to any country or region. It is solely aimed at safeguarding China's sovereignty, security, and development interests.

"Regarding China's follow-up development plans for aircraft carriers, they will be comprehensively considered based on national defense needs. It is important to emphasize that our country's nature as a socialist country, its strategic choice of taking the path of peaceful development, and its independent, peaceful foreign policy determine that we will never abandon our defensive national defense policy," the spokesman said.

An industry insider of China's shipbuilding sector who wished to be anonymous said the Fujian's commissioning "means the PLA Navy has entered the three-carrier club and is theoretically capable of deploying a carrier strike group anytime it wants. That also means the Navy's long-range operational capability is way better than before."