CV-18 Fujian/003 CATOBAR carrier thread
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
The official PLAN Weibo account is running a prize draw with a picture of the 003. The draw ends September 10th. Could mean absolutely nothing, or it could be something...
Hmm, it would be much better if it was on September 3rd. But I think he'll be joining the navy soon.
FriedRiceNSpice
Major
Would have been grand if the naval aircraft formations in the parade actually took off from the Fujian. Unfortunately, even if the Fujian had been commissioned (or even fully operational) I doubt they would have done so.
I think the Fujian is waiting for its aviation department to get ready to receive and launch J-35/KJ-600 on the carrier, which may take some time. Last time when President Xi commissioned Shandong in Yulin Naval Base, there were a few J-15 displayed on the flight deck. If Xi still attends the commission ceremony of Fujian this time, the leadership of PLAN may want him to see the whole set of models of the carrier-based aircrafts on deck, not only old J-15T. The pilots of the air wing of the carrier may also want to tell Xi that they can fly these aircrafts now. It would be embarrassing if they tell Xi that the air wing is still learning manuals and these aircrafts were landed on the carrier by test pilots.
It's also probably because a large portion of her air group were taken up by the parade. Entering service is just a symbolic event, while acquiring fighting capability as a carrier air group is time-consuming and without shortcuts. The parade mission was also a unique opportunity for all elements of Fujian's air group to operate together and that's probably also why we've seen a number of KJ-600s around. Now that the big parade mission's done, everyone can do the next big thing (after Xi's done entertaining all the precious guests that is xD).
It's been sitting there for days and hasn't been on sea trials. Is the ceremony coming up?Another flyover.
