Fujian , China's third aircraft carrier, seen here as it departs for its maiden sea trial on 1 May 2024. (VCG via Getty Images)

China has completed the maiden sea trials for its third aircraft carrier, which will be in service as CNS Fujian once it is commissioned. The vessel sailed off from the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai on 1 May and the trials were completed eight days later.

The trials focused on testing the “reliability and stability of the aircraft carrier's propulsion and electrical systems”, read a report from state-owned Xinhua News Agency, which was published to announce the trials.

Fujian was launched by Jiangnan Shipyard in June 2022. While it is slated to be the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN's) third aircraft carrier overall, it is the country's first vessel to be configured for catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) aircraft operations.

Satellite images that have been analysed by Janes since 2021 support postulations that Fujian is equipped with electromagnetic catapults, given the presence of distinctive features along the track of the aircraft launching system.

Currently scheduled to be retired in 2040, the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 could serve the UK as a force multiplier to its higher-end F-35 and Tempest aircraft well beyond that date, BAE Systems says. (Crown Copyright)

BAE Systems has touted the continued relevance of the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 to the UK, saying the ‘fourth-generation' combat aircraft can provide much-needed mass and resilience beyond its projected out-of-service date (OSD).

Speaking at the site of the BAE Systems' Warton production facility in northern England on 14 May, Mike Baulkwill, Combat Air Strategy director at the company, said that, with the international Eurofighter operator base set to fly improved and upgraded variants of the type out into the 2060s, the Royal Air Force (RAF) could retain its own aircraft beyond its current 2040 OSD.

“The Typhoon will be relatively enduring, as sometimes you will not want to use your higher-end aircraft [such as the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning and/or Tempest] – the Typhoon and the Typhoon Evolution [along with Eurofighter Evolution, the name being given to the Long-Term Evolution [LTE] mid-life refresh standard aircraft now being developed] is in a good place for that,” Baulkwill said.

The Standard Missile (SM)-3 Block IIA missile, pictured above launching from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii, is jointly developed by the US and Japan. The MDA said the GPI joint development will be pursued in a construct similar to that used for the SM-3. (US MDA)

Japan and the US have firmed up their co-operation to jointly develop a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI).

According to the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD), the two countries signed a partnership agreement on 15 May to promote collaboration on research and development of the GPI.

The development of the GPI will be initiated in 2024 and it is scheduled to be completed in the 2030s, the MoD said. The GPI is envisaged to improve Japan's integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) capabilities, and deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance, the MoD added.

The MoD said it will work “closely with the US Department of Defense to ensure the success of this joint development, and will strive to strengthen the alliance through joint development”.