Aircraft carriers are a crown jewel of modern militaries. They enable nations to project power far beyond their shores and act as deterrence by discouraging would be adversaries from escalating conflicts. Only a handful of navies operate these vessels, with the US having the largest and most advanced fleet in the world.But China is on a mission to catch up. Today, the country has two aircraft carriers in active service, the Liaoning and Shandong. With a third, the Fujian undergoing sea trials.Together, they ...