China’s Fourth Aircraft Carrier Type 004
Updated 11th August 2026
This updated article brings the latest news and information on China’s PLA Navy, Type 003 Fujian and Type 004 aircraft carriers.
Additionally, as of 11th August 2026, there are numerous online reports that China has begun construction of a fifth aircraft carrier at Jiangnan shipyard, Changxing Island, Shanghai. It has been suggested that it is possibly of a Type 004A or Type 005, but at this stage these reports are highly speculative.
Firstly, pictured below are authentic images of Type 003 Fujian at Jiangnan shipyard.
Launched on the 17th June 2022, the Type 003 Fujian was the first of China’s new generation of larger aircraft carriers for fixed-wing aircraft with catapult-assisted (CATOBAR). The ship is of domestic design, being equipped with three advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS), thus providing a major leap in naval capability. This system enables the launch of heavier, fully loaded and more diverse aircraft including the J-15T, J-35 stealth fighters, and KJ-600 early warning planes.
Fujian Type 003 pennant number CV-18, is China’s third aircraft carrier and was commissioned into the PLA Navy (PLAN) on 5th November 2025, during a ceremony at the Sanya Naval Base in Hainan province. The first two PLAN aircraft carriers are respectively the Liaoning Type 001 pennant number CV-16, and the Shandong Type 002 pennant number CV-17.
On 03 July 2026. the South China Morning Post announced that the Fujian aircraft carrier may have possibly become the world’s first carrier to be fitted with a hard-kill anti-torpedo torpedo (ATT) system. This report was based upon China’s June 2026 Defence Review publication: that Fujian had been upgraded to carry six-tube 324mm rotating launchers positioned beneath the flight deck on both sides of the ship.
So what is the latest news on the Type 004 aircraft carrier? In the last few months there has been considerable discussion and internet chatter both on websites and on social media about the warship. There are some numerous unclear images and AI-generated imagery that claim to be the Chinese aircraft carrier Type 004, and/or separate ship compartments, under construction at the Dalian shipyard.
In December 2025 the US Defense Department claimed that China was planning the construction of six Type 004, to be completed before 2035. The warships would be nuclear powered by twin pressurised water reactors, having an estimated power output of 450 to 500 megawatts of thermal power. Furthermore, Type 004 would be larger than the Fujian Type 003, with an estimated full-load displacement of 110,000 to 120,000 tons being possibly larger than the US Navy’s Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier.
It is expected that Type 004 will also have advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS), similar to the Fujian: specifically a Medium-Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) integrated power system. By way of reference, the US Navy’s Gerald R. Ford– class carrier converts stored DC power to high frequency Alternating Current (AC) to power its EMALS system.
A clear image of Type 004 under construction at Dalian shipyard, has now become available on the Centre for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) website. The image is believed to have been taken on 4th May 2026 (feature image above) by Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence). From this image, CSIS analysis of the warship’s hull provides measurements of: bow to stern approximately 286 metres – with a 46 metres beam, at its current constructional stage. The image also shows two 15 metre by 15 metre compartments in the hull: believed to be for the planned nuclear reactor containment systems. More recent unvalidated images of the warship, on Chinese social media, show rapid construction and fitting of the complex, curved steel hull plates.
Finally, there has been much speculation on a possible name for the first Type 004 aircraft carrier, when it is eventually launched? China’s first three aircraft carriers have been named after provinces of China (PRC): Type 001 Liaoning, Type 002 Shandong and Type 003 Fujian. The province names Jiangsu, Guangxi and Zhejiang have already been used as ship names: the first on a bulk carrier (Jiangsu), the second on a Type 075 amphibious assault ship (Guangxi) and the third on a container ship (SITC Zhejiang). A possible name for the new PLA Navy aircraft carrier could be Guangdong. Guangdong is a coastal province of significant economic and geopolitical importance. China’s new aircraft carrier Type 004 could possibly be named Guangdong?
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