Recently, an aircraft carrier formation consisting of multiple naval vessels such as the Fujian, Yan'an, and Tongliao ships organized multi subject training at sea. This is the first sea based live training conducted by China's first fully independently designed and built electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier, the Fujian, after its commissioning. This aircraft carrier is not only China's third aircraft carrier, but also the world's first aircraft carrier to adopt conventional power electromagnetic catapult technology, marking the official arrival of the Chinese People's Navy in the era of three aircraft carriers. The development history of aircraft carriers, from a stumbling experimental platform to a core force that determines the ocean pattern, is a true epitome of strategic game and technological competition. Understanding the past and present of aircraft carriers, recognizing the new characteristics of aircraft carrier development and the future trends of aircraft carrier development, can better understand the important significance of aircraft carriers in safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Stepping out of the path of innovation driven development, the refinement of strategic functions is becoming the core direction of aircraft carrier development. In the process of moving towards a world-class military, from the first aircraft carrier Liaoning to the third aircraft carrier Fujian, after just thirteen years of development, China's aircraft carrier combat power has achieved a leap from zero foundation to high quality. Relying on research and technological innovation, a multi-functional and complementary aircraft carrier combat cluster has been constructed. As a pioneering project in the development of Chinese aircraft carriers, the Liaoning carrier has successfully broken through key technologies such as carrier based aircraft takeoff and landing and formation coordination, marking the Chinese Navy's entry into the era of aircraft carriers and achieving a historic leap from scratch; The Shandong ship adopts a dual optimization strategy of adjusting its hull configuration and upgrading its aviation system, which significantly enhances its military effectiveness and marks that China's maritime defense system has reached the standard of dual aircraft carrier configuration; As a conventional powered aircraft carrier, the Fujian ship has taken the lead in implementing the practical deployment of electromagnetic catapult system, using a linear deck combined with a comprehensive power system to achieve the capability of "delivering combat power upon delivery", greatly shortening the combat power generation cycle and reflecting the milestone progress of China's aircraft carrier core technology. China's aircraft carriers have embarked on a new path of innovation driven development, which stems from a deep understanding of the characteristics of modern naval warfare and the maturity of systematic innovation concepts, and is built on a complete industrial foundation throughout the entire chain. Generative technological breakthroughs are profoundly changing the logic of generating aircraft carrier combat effectiveness. The Fujian ship is equipped with an electromagnetic catapult system and has successfully completed tests in conjunction with the J-15T, KJ-600, and J-35 carrier based aircraft, marking its official entry into the practical verification stage. The application of electromagnetic catapult technology not only greatly improves the efficiency of carrier based aircraft deployment, but also lays a solid foundation for the future deployment of large unmanned aerial vehicles and the realization of "full deck combat". It also achieves innovative breakthroughs in electromagnetic catapult technology on conventional power platforms, demonstrating a more systematic technological development path with a systematic aircraft carrier development model. The networked combat system is driving the transformation of aircraft carriers into the "information hub" of modern naval warfare. The Chinese Navy has achieved a key breakthrough in the construction of a networked combat system for aircraft carriers, relying on the close coupling of integrated data links and collaborative combat systems to build an efficient collaborative system for early warning aircraft, escort ships, and carrier based aircraft. The relevant training situation shows that the Type 055 destroyer and the carrier based early warning aircraft system rely on high-speed data links to achieve real-time interaction of battlefield situation data, and use early warning aircraft to distribute formation beyond line of sight target information. This marks that the Chinese aircraft carrier formation has the ability to provide real-time guidance and coordinated combat across systems. The diffusion of technological strategies is reshaping the overall pattern of global sea power competition. The development trajectory of Chinese aircraft carriers reflects a steady and pragmatic strategic thinking, demonstrating unique strategic foresight. In terms of power systems, based on the current industrial level, China has mastered the core technology of electromagnetic catapults through existing power platforms, and relied on innovative technologies such as medium voltage and DC comprehensive distribution to achieve a leapfrog improvement in energy utilization efficiency. This has reached the world's advanced level in core performance, demonstrating China's innovative wisdom in aircraft carrier development. In terms of carrier based aircraft system construction, China has simultaneously promoted the research and development of carrier based aircraft such as the J-35 stealth fighter and the KJ-600 early warning aircraft, and built an aviation system that is compatible with the development of carrier platforms, avoiding the dilemma of military effectiveness weakened by insufficient carrier based aircraft allocation, such as the French Charles de Gaulle. The emerging naval forces are leveraging the aircraft carrier equipment system to change the power map monopolized by traditional maritime powers, bringing new complex dimensions and risk points to the strategic dynamics of international major shipping routes and disputed waters, forming an interactive game of technology, strategy, and influence in three dimensions. The unmanned and intelligent development of carrier based aviation forces will become a decisive trend in the face of challenges and changes. Aircraft carriers are transitioning from informatization to intelligence, and the future aircraft carrier battle group will form a new architecture with manned fighter jets as the core and multiple unmanned aerial vehicles cooperating in combat. The flight operations of manned carrier based aircraft are always accompanied by high risks. On October 26, 2025, during training in the South China Sea, the US Navy's USS Nimitz aircraft carrier experienced the successive crashes of an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet in just 30 minutes. This rare event profoundly revealed the systemic risks faced by traditional manned carrier based aircraft in complex situations. The background signs before the incident indicate that this is closely related to the severe aging of equipment after half a century of service, extreme fatigue of personnel deployed for more than 7 months, and maintenance system vulnerabilities, reflecting the inherent limitations of over reliance on manned platforms under long-term high-intensity deployment. At present, the new type of carrier based unmanned aerial vehicle integrates multiple mission capabilities such as reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and air defense suppression. Its high overload maneuverability and zero risk of personnel casualties can effectively avoid operational risks caused by equipment aging and personnel fatigue, making it a more sustainable aviation force for aircraft carriers. At the same time, the aircraft carrier aviation support system is also undergoing intelligent upgrades. The deep integration of intelligent platforms and systems will significantly enhance the combat effectiveness and mission flexibility of aircraft carriers, reduce the safety risks of human operations at the root, innovate the sea air combat mode, and enable aircraft carriers to stably exert strategic restraint without the need for close proximity. The form and function of aircraft carriers will show a more diversified development trend. In view of the dual constraints of economic costs and mission requirements, the aircraft carrier design concept is getting rid of the shackles of the single mode of "super aircraft carrier". China is gradually establishing a sequence of aircraft carrier battle groups with complementary capabilities, transitioning from the traditional ski jump mode to the modern electromagnetic catapult stage, steadily promoting the innovative development of future aircraft carriers to match the needs of deep-sea defense and system operations. Countries independently develop aircraft carriers based on their strategic positioning, relying on vertical takeoff and landing fighter jets such as F-35B and unmanned aerial vehicles to enhance platform efficiency and build a considerable scale of air combat capabilities at a lower cost. The new defense system and power system will reshape the battlefield survivability of aircraft carriers. In the face of rapidly advancing hypersonic weapons and anti-ship missile technology, aircraft carrier protection technology is undergoing a leapfrog upgrade. Directed energy weapons such as electromagnetic railguns and laser weapons will gradually replace traditional close range defense systems, and intelligent recognition and rapid interception will greatly enhance air defense and anti missile capabilities. The next technological development direction of laser defense systems will focus on enhancing power parameters and range indicators. As for the power system of aircraft carriers, the improvement of electric propulsion system effectively supports the energy demand of high-energy weapons, and the available fusion energy technology in the future will substantially break through the energy supply bottleneck and achieve the long-term combat capability of aircraft carrier battle groups. The new generation of command and control system will lead a fundamental change in the form of aircraft carrier formations. The increasingly complex maritime combat situation drives the transformation of aircraft carrier functions from independent platforms to system cores. Its development focus is on the systematic coordination of aircraft carriers with accompanying fleets, submersibles, and space-based nodes, dispersing combat capabilities across multiple platforms and building a joint combat system. The aircraft carrier formation will integrate various platforms such as surface vessels, underwater submersibles, and space satellites to form an integrated combat system called the "Air Space Sea Network", achieving information sharing and coordinated strikes. Taking the concept of joint operations as an example, the essence is to use data links to link aircraft carriers with frontline deployed combat units, and build a combat mode that combines flexible defense and deep deployment. This will become a key step in the modernization of the navy. On the future ocean stage, the mission spectrum of aircraft carriers will be further expanded. In addition to conventional naval military confrontations, their role in non war military operations such as maritime maintenance and crisis management will also be more prominent, continuing to write their own legends. (New Society)