China Releases New Images of Third Aircraft Carrier Fujian

China has released new official images of its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, showing off for the first time new technological advances that had been picked apart by analysts for months.

The second flat-top warship to be built by Chinese engineers drew significant attention on China's social media websites on Tuesday after it was showcased on Xinwen Lianbo, the prime-time daily news bulletin aired by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

China officially classifies the Fujian as a Type 003, which is similar in size to the U.S. Navy's most advanced supercarriers but lacking in nuclear propulsion and other capabilities matured over decades.

On Weibo, China's X-like microblogging platform, CCTV's military channel praised the leadership of President Xi Jinping and confirmed that the Fujian was undergoing mooring trials to test its steam-based propulsion system.

Analysts had previously speculated, based on the ship's movements, that the Fujian could soon begin its maiden sea trials.

The CCTV footage revealed for the first time three tracks for the carrier's new electromagnetic catapult assisted take-off but arrested recovery, or CATOBAR, aircraft launch system, which has the potential to launch and recover more and heavier fixed-wing aircraft per minute.

After the United States, China is only the second nation to utilize an electromagnetic launch system, which will replace the existing ski-jumps on its two existing carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, both of which were based on Soviet design.

It also means future Chinese carriers are likely to skip the conventional steamed catapults still used on most American ships.

In November, rare smartphone footage filmed from a passenger plane overflying a shipyard in Shanghai, where the Fujian was built, captured a suspected test of the CATOBAR system.

Also visible in the undated CCTV images now trending on Chinese social media was an unidentified aircraft parked with folded wings on the Fujian's 1,036-foot flight deck.

While the airframe was not named, another aerial photograph, analyzed in December by German researcher Andreas Rupprecht, also showed a mockup of China's next-generation carrier-capable stealth fighter, dubbed the "J-35," at the same location on the ship's deck.

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China's ongoing military buildup and modernization, which has picked up pace during Xi's decade in power, includes a plan to turn the People's Liberation Army Navy into a "blue-water" force, allowing it to operate further from the Chinese coast than it currently does.

Seafaring nations typically project naval power with aircraft carriers, floating bases that can be deployed for months at a time. The U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered force means it can remain at sea for longer periods without replenishing its fuel.

Defense analysts outside of China hoping to track the progress of the vessel's launch and subsequent fitting out have largely relied on satellite imagery or open-source intelligence—pictures and videos typically shared online by Chinese military enthusiasts.

The Fujian was constructed at the Jiangnan Shipyard on Shanghai's Changxing Island—the heart of the country's impressive shipbuilding industry.

Last month, China's State Security Ministry, the country's spy agency, warned that individuals who photograph and share pictures of sensitive military technologies online face jail time for leaking state secrets without authorization.

Fans of the PLA's latest capabilities had been driving to military sites and chartering flights to photograph the equipment, the agency said.