Satellite photographs of the building of China’s future Type 004 aircraft carrier by the Dalian shipyards in February 2026 confirmed two armored reactor compartments and a construction resembling a containment construction inside the ship’s hull, supporting the speculation of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Following on from the Fujian, a Type 003 aircraft carrier geared up with three EMALS electromagnetic catapults, these observations reinforce the speculation of a brand new functionality and technological leap underway on this space, for the naval trade but in addition the Chinese Navy, probably giving it, if the information are certainly confirmed, simply how shortly the technological and functionality hole with the US Navy is narrowing.
The aircraft carrier Fujian validates the CATOBAR transition of China’s naval air arm
The transition from the STOBAR normal (ski soar + arresting wires) to the CATOBAR normal (catapults + arresting wires) with the arrival of the Fujian in the summer season of 2025 has enabled the Chinese carrier air group to make use of heavier platforms and assist a lot more intense exercise, marking a transparent leap in functionality and probably inserting the Chinese Navy at the degree of the solely two navies nonetheless possessing these expertise, the US Navy and the French Navy.
The Fujian’s sea trials in spring 2024 validated this ramp-up, with catapult launches and high-rate landings of the three important fixed-wing aircraft of the Chinese Air Force: the J-15T heavy fighter-bomber, the J-35 stealth multirole medium fighter, and the KJ-600 ahead air surveillance aircraft. This transition now offers a technical and doctrinal basis on which the subsequent Chinese aircraft carrier may very well be designed, in continuity and with out doctrinal break.
Le Type 003 Fujian aircraft carrierIt due to this fact serves as a benchmark for functionality on this historic class change, with three electromagnetic catapults, an expanded flight deck, and totally electrical propulsion, very near nuclear propulsion, however with electrical energy generated by thermal generators. The ship approaches or exceeds 85,000 tons and carries almost fifty aircraft, with a flight price of round 120 to 130 air maneuvers per day, 50% to 65% of that of the two STOBAR aircraft carriers already in service with the Beijing fleet.
The Fujian’s timeline additionally sheds mild on current industrial developments, with a launch in June 2022 and official commissioning in November 2025. This sequence has allowed for the acquisition of experience associated to electromagnetic catapults and the expanded flight deck. It establishes the CATOBAR as the new normal for the Chinese Navy and prepares for the arrival of a brand new ship by reusing all the elements already mastered, from deck format to deployment procedures and the logistical flows of sustained air operations.
While the Fujian represents a substantial advance in functionality, expertise, and doctrine, it suffers from a major, if not insurmountable, weak point. Indeed, as beforehand talked about, the Fujian’s propulsion system is typical, necessitating very frequent refueling at sea and decreasing the inner quantity out there for storing aviation gas, munitions, and spare components. The long-term reliability of the electromagnetic catapults and arresting wires additionally must be confirmed, with the preliminary availability danger falling brief of the theoretical potential. These components information the priorities of the future aircraft carrier, beginning with vary and sustainability.
Observations from the Dalian shipyards reinforce the speculation of nuclear propulsion for the Type 004
It is exactly this nuclear propulsion, which might give the future Chinese aircraft carrier elevated navy capabilities, that is now the focus of intense consideration from Western navies and intelligence providers. However, photographs captured on February 17, 2026, by SkyFi present exactly that internal components of the future Type 004They reveal what seem like two armored reactor compartments and several other engine rooms at the coronary heart of the hull beneath meeting. These bodily clues, in step with naval reactor propulsion, considerably strengthen the probability of a nuclear possibility for the ship.
