According to the tradition of the People's Liberation Army's Army Day in recent years, every August 1st, CCTV always launches a special program introducing China's national defense construction, which inadvertently reveals a wealth of information.

This year's special program is no different. On the 30th, CCTV released the first trailer of the special program "Struggle - Striving for a First-rate Military", and the most eye-catching part in it is the footage of the Fujian Ship's electromagnetic catapult aircraft, which is full of details:

The silhouette of J-15 appears

From the time the personnel enter their positions, to the appearance of the J-15T carrier aircraft, then to the preparation of the aircraft for takeoff, and even the close-up when the catapult button is pressed, everything is included. The trailer even includes the shadow of the J-15T touching down again to create atmosphere.

It can be said that this trailer has everything except the official footage of the catapulted carrier aircraft.

As China's first aircraft carrier to adopt electromagnetic catapult technology, the Fujian Ship's integration testing with carrier aircraft is more complex than that of the Liaoning and Shandong ships. So far, the ship has completed eight sea trials, but there is currently no clear statement about when the Fujian Ship will conduct its first catapult of carrier aircraft. Only speculation based on public information and satellite images exists.

The most widely circulated view is that during the seventh and eighth sea trials of the Fujian Ship between March and May this year, it tested the electromagnetic catapult of carrier aircraft.

Earlier footage of the Fujian Ship's sea trials

In late March, the Fujian Ship was found conducting its seventh sea trial in the Bohai Sea, during which it frequently performed high-speed navigation and sharp turns. Satellites also observed water columns that appeared to be the result of an explosion shock test near the area — this is a must for an aircraft carrier before commissioning, so some analysts speculate that the Fujian Ship has already completed the carrier aircraft catapult test based on this.

The eighth sea trial in May lasted only seven days, but during this time, the Fujian Ship's deck arresting area was photographed showing dense tire friction marks, indicating that the ship conducted frequent carrier aircraft catapult and arrested landing tests at sea.

As of now, the Fujian Ship has fully verified the power, machinery, radar sensors, carrier weapons, and electromagnetic catapult systems, all of which have met expectations, and it only awaits the official announcement of its delivery to the navy for service.

The Fujian Ship may have conducted anti-sinking tests

Aside from the impressive appearance of the Fujian Ship, another piece of information with significant implications revealed in the trailer is that the J-10 is still in its prime and has shot down stealth fighters.

As is well known, the J-10 made a big show in the India-Pakistan conflict in May this year, as the Pakistan Air Force shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three French "Rafale" fighters that were highly praised by the West, causing great embarrassment to both India and France.

The key to the J-10's victory over the Indian Air Force lies in system-based operations — this is precisely the core of what the trailer mentioned, the J-10 "shot down" a stealth fighter in simulated combat.

Based on limited information from the trailer, under the support of a systematic operational system, the "enemy" stealth fighter had already been detected when it entered the combat area. The J-10 received information about the "enemy" aircraft through data links from the command center, and then launched air-to-air missiles according to instructions. Subsequently, an early warning aircraft completed mid-course correction and terminal guidance of the missile, ultimately hitting the "enemy" aircraft.

Systematic support is the key to the J-10's "downing" of stealth fighters

This entire process essentially realizes cross-platform collaboration through data links for detection, decision-making, and strike tasks, allowing non-stealth fighters to gain the advantage of detecting and striking the enemy first — as emphasized in the trailer, "without system support, there is basically no chance to shoot down stealth fighters."

The symbolic significance of the J-10 shooting down a stealth fighter goes far beyond the tactical level, indicating that modern air combat has shifted from single equipment performance confrontation to systematic operations.

This actually indicates that merely selling stealth fighters without providing complete operational system support would significantly reduce their practical combat value, especially when facing an opponent with the ability to integrate systematic operations.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533097400539054632/

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