The USS Gerald R. Ford returns to port in Norfolk, Virginia, in May 2026, completing its nearly year-long deployment to the Caribbean and the Middle East. The Ford is the largest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the US Navy, and the world. (US Navy/Mass Communication Spc. 2nd Class Mike Shen)

Ford vs. Fujian: Comparing America’s and China’s Biggest Aircraft Carriers

Share this link on Facebook

Share this page on X (Twitter)

Share this link on LinkedIn

Share this page on Reddit

Email a link to this page

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........

© The National Interest