Officers said the USS Fujian's flight deck configuration limits the speed at which aircraft can be launched and recovered, especially compared to U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
The Chinese carrier's operational capabilities are only about 60% of those of the Nimitz, said former U.S. Navy Capt. Carl Schuster, who served on two American aircraft carriers.
After reviewing photographs of the Fujian's flight deck, Schuster and retired Lt. Commander Keith Stewart, a former U.S. naval aviator, noted that the deck layout limits simultaneous takeoffs and landings.
An important advance was the electromagnetic catapult, which allowed aircraft to take off with heavier weapons and fuel loads, allowing them to engage enemy targets from greater distances. In this regard, only the newest and largest aircraft carrier of the US Navy, USS Gerald R. Ford, can compare with it.
This flight deck configuration is new for a Chinese aircraft carrier. Its two other aircraft carriers – Liaoning and Shandong – have a classic ski-jump, on which aircraft accelerate exclusively under their own power.
CNN notes that when it comes to aircraft carriers, the United States has a significant advantage over China, at least in numbers: they have 11 active aircraft carriers, and China has two, the third will be the Fujian, which will enter service in the coming weeks.
