In the past few years, the statement, "China is developing an electromagnetic catapult," has been circulating in the rumor mill on the Internet.
Recently, a U.S. satellite photo published on a website exposed the appearance of a high-speed magnetic rail traction device at an unknown location in China. Around the same time as the photo’s publication, Major General Ma Weiming, who is an Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a Professor at the Naval University of Engineering, received the National Science and Technology Progress Award. On receipt of the award, Ma delivered a speech in which he is believed to have disclosed that China has successfully developed electromagnetic catapult technology.
At present, the United States, Britain, the former Soviet Union, and China are the only countries that are conducting research into the electromagnetic catapult. Building a 1:1 full size large ground test facilities for an electromagnetic catapult is only taking place in the U.S. and China.
Li Xiaojian, chief editor of the military website Super Camp, stated that being able to build such a large scale experimental facility demonstrates that China has fully mastered the key technology of the electromagnetic catapult, such as large linear induction motors, a high-strength forced energy storage device, and a high-performance pulse generator.
Source: January 29, 2014
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0129/c1011-24258587.html