China is said to have dropped a hint that its fourth locally-made aircraft carrier could be nuclear-powered, even as its navy released a video to mark its 77th foundation day in which such an indication was made.
Highlighting its blue-water naval ambitions, the PLA Navy’s video ‘Into The Deep’ released on Wednesday (April 23) sparked speculation that China’s fourth aircraft carrier would go nuclear.
In the video, the PLA Navy showcased a compass, being handed down through generations of naval officers named after the three aircraft carriers — Liao Ning, Shan Dong, and Fu Jian — currently in naval service.
Interestingly, the video also showcased a fourth aircraft carrier with the name ‘He Jian’, which gave the hint that this vessel could be nuclear-powered.
Interestingly, the “He” in the new aircraft carrier’s name sounds like the Chinese word for “nuclear” and “Jian” is the word for a “ship”, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
China has not officially confirmed or denied that a new carrier is being built. Satellite images in the last two years show a large vessel under construction at the Dalian shipyard in China’s northeast.
The size of the vessel indicated it could be as big as the American nuclear-powered Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, the first in the US Navy service to have an electromagnetic launch system.
The February 2026 photos of the vessel also showed structures that looked like a nuclear reactor containment system, the SCMP reported.
Last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping commissioned the PLA Navy’s third aircraft carrier, the 80,000-tonne Fujian, the most modern warship equipped with electromagnetic catapults.
With tensions on the rise with the US, China may build more aircraft carriers to operate in various global maritime routes. The operationalisation of Fujian may extend Chinese naval deployment in the Indian Ocean, causing discomfort for India.
While the US Navy dominates the maritime warfare domain with 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the Indian Navy operates two conventional aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.