Internationalism No. 83, January 2026 Page 10 From the series Asian giants With the commissioning of the Fujian , China inaugurates the three-aircraft-carrier era . The building of the fourth, fifth, and sixth aircraft carriers is widely seen as just a matter of time. However, since the previous Liaoning and Shandong carriers are less advanced, the prospect of always having an advanced aircraft carrier deployed will only become possible with the launching of the fifth: three are needed to maintain a steady rotation with one in use, one in maintenance, and one in training. The real novelty is the capacity to launch the AEW&C Xi'an KJ-600 — Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, i.e., planes equipped with radars — from the ship's deck thanks to an electromagnetic catapult: this allows the carrier to operate beyond the range of AEW&C aircraft taking off from land bases. The Sichuan , a helicopter carrier amphibious assaul...