Part 2/13:
One of the most striking aspects of China's Fujen carrier development is its rapid progression. The timeline from acquiring a used Ukrainian carrier Ling in 2012 to deploying an advanced electromagnetic catapult-equipped vessel in 2025 is remarkably compressed. Historically, leading naval powers took decades to reach similar milestones:
The United States, for instance, took 53 years from the launch of the experimental Langley (1922) to the operational Nimitz class (1975).
The Soviet Union spent roughly 24 years from their first helicopter carrier to their sole operational vessel, the Kuznetsov, in 1991.