According to a recent report by the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI), China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is on track to consolidate an air-naval force that could field nine aircraft carriers in service by 2035. The document, part of the China Military Power Report 2025, describes the ambitious shipbuilding program as the largest aircraft carrier expansion effort in the Indo-Pacific since World War II, significantly enhancing the Asian country’s maritime power projection.
At present, the PLAN operates three aircraft carriers: Liaoning (16), Shandong (17), and Fujian (18), the latter regarded as the flagship of China’s new generation of carriers. According to the report, the Chinese government intends to induct six additional platforms before 2035, effectively tripling its capacity to deploy carrier strike groups. This expansion aims to sustain a continuous presence in the South China Sea and the Western Pacific, strategic areas where the United States maintains a dominant position.
The Pentagon’s report highlights that the commissioning of the Fujian in 2025 represented one of the most significant milestones of the year for China’s armed forces. With a displacement of 80,000 tons and electromagnetic catapults, the Type 003 marks China’s transition toward large-deck aircraft carriers capable of operating J-35 fifth-generation fighters and KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft. These characteristics make it the largest warship ever built outside the United States and reflect a qualitative leap in Chinese naval doctrine.
The document also references the first simultaneous maneuvers conducted with two aircraft carriers, carried out by the embarked strike groups of the Liaoning and Shandong in the South China Sea during 2025, demonstrating a more advanced phase of joint training. In addition, the report highlights progress on the Type 076 amphibious ships (known as “drone carriers”), equipped with electromagnetic catapults to operate fixed-wing drones—an innovation that will expand the PLAN’s air-naval capabilities beyond traditional aircraft carriers.
In parallel with these developments, open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts have released satellite imagery showing progress in the construction of China’s fourth aircraft carrier, tentatively identified as Type 004. The images, taken at the Dalian shipyards, reveal the assembly of the first hull sections, with estimates placing its displacement between 100,000 and 120,000 tons, potentially putting it in the same category as the U.S. Navy’s Gerald R. Ford–class carriers. Various sources speculate that this new ship will feature nuclear propulsion, further extending the PLAN’s operational reach.
Taken together, the expansion of the aircraft carrier fleet and the strengthening of naval bases across the Indo-Pacific—such as the Yuchi facility in Qingdao—underscore China’s strategic objective of becoming a global maritime power. For the United States, this development poses a direct challenge to its naval supremacy and raises concerns among its regional allies. Should the outlined plans materialize, China could operate by 2035 a surface fleet capable of rivaling that of the United States, reshaping the strategic balance across the world’s oceans.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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