U.S. supercarriers remain unmatched power projectors, yet maintenance cycles often sideline them. -The Navy’s “rule of thirds” keeps only a few deployed while others prep or undergo overhaul. Every 25 years,

By Steven Wills, Defense Opinion Writer. Whenever Department of Defense funds are in short supply, U.S. Army officers want to target the aircraft carrier force for cutbacks. This is not […]

The US Navy has been building its new nuclear supercarrier, the USS John F. Kennedy, for over a decade, but is currently delayed by development challenges.

China has recently commissioned its most advanced warship, the aircraft carrier CNS Fujian, which is considered to rival its United States counterpart, USS Gerald R. Ford. Newsweek has emailed the U.S. Navy and the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment.

China's most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has entered service days after a grand commissioning ceremony overseen by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, state media said. The Fujian, the country's third aircraft carrier, is equipped with electromagnetic catapults which will allow planes to be launched at higher speeds.

While the Fujian represents a step up in Chinese naval power, it is conventionally powered and smaller than its nuclear-powered American counterparts. The Pentagon has estimated that the Fujian, which displaces more than 80,000 tons when fully loaded, can deploy up to 40 fixed-wing aircraft alongside a complement of helicopters.

Ma, father of the carrier’s electromagnetic launch system, is among a select few at the vessel’s commissioning ceremony.