National Interest

by Harrison Kass

    The Ford outperforms the Fujian by almost every metric—but American complacency would be a mistake.

    China’s Type 003 Fujian aircraft carrier represents Beijing’s biggest leap yet in naval aviation, marking a sea change from its first two carriers. Designed and built entirely within China, the Fujian incorporates a handful of cutting-edge technologies—most notably electromagnetic catapults, similar in concept to the EMALS used by the US Navy’s Gerald R. Ford class.

    Of course, this technological overlap forces comparisons between the two carriers. And while the Fujian has closed the technological gap between the Chinese and Americans, the Ford class remains the world’s benchmark, comfortably the best aircraft carrier in use today. Yet the Chinese carrier packs a sufficient punch that the Americans should not rest on their laurels.

• The Fujian and the Ford: A Head-to-Head Comparison

• The Ford Has an Edge Over the Fujian In Most Metrics

One immediate and obvious difference between the two impressive carriers is that the scope of the Ford’s mission is more ambitious than the Fujian’s. While the Fujian was built to project power beyond China’s shores into the Indo-Pacific, the Ford was designed for worldwide expeditionary operations that could last months. Both carriers are their respective nations’ flagships—but Ford was designed for sustained global warfare, while Fujian is China’s first entrant into blue-water capability.

    The Fujian is China’s first CATOBAR (catapult-assisted takeoff/arrested recovery) carrier. Previous aircraft carriers in China’s arsenal have had a STOBAR (short takeoff/arrested recovery) configuration, or a “ski jump” ramp; this is cheaper and mechanically simpler than a catapult, but it limits the weight (and therefore the range) of the carrier’s aircraft. All US Navy carriers have a CATOBAR configuration, and China is intent on matching this.

    The Fujian uses three electromagnetic catapults, allowing it to launch heavier fighters, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, and larger fuel and weapons loads. The Ford also uses the EMALS system, though it has four catapults instead of three, increasing its sortie rate. The Ford’s EMALS has undergone more than a decade of testing and refinement, and despite a series of prominent early breakdowns, now supports a broader range of aircraft. Relatively little is known about the Fujian’s catapults and how reliable they are.

    In terms of its air wing, the Fujian is expected to carry between 50 and 70 total aircraft, including fighter jets, early warning aircraft, and a variety of helicopters and UAVs. The Ford’s air wing is similar in composition, but it can carry over 75 aircraft, and potentially as many as 90. The US aircraft have an advantage over their Chinese counterparts with respect to stealth, electronic warfare, and combat experience—two additional points in favor of the Ford.

    Lastly, the Fujian relies on conventional propulsion, which requires regular refueling and heavy dependence on logistics ships. The Ford has two nuclear reactors, so it can operate for decades without reactor refueling over a virtually unlimited range, with high sustained speeds. Indeed, nuclear propulsion gives the Ford a massive advantage over the Fujian, which must regularly return to port for refueling, interrupting sustained naval operations.

• America Enjoys Invisible Naval Advantages over China, Too

The Fujian is still entering operational service and building out carrier aviation expertise. The Ford, on the other hand, benefits from accumulated decades of US Navy combat operations across Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya, and Syria. Obviously, carrier experience cannot be built overnight, and experience can be as important as hardware. Here, again, the US Ford-class has a sizable advantage.

Taken together, the Ford is the superior aircraft carrier across almost every metric. While the Fujian marks a landmark achievement for China’s navy, and bodes well for its future development, the Ford class remains the benchmark with nuclear propulsion, a larger airing, a mature EMALS system, and decades of combat experience.