China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, has left its homeport in east China’s Qingdao city for a training mission in the South China Sea.

This is the first time the carrier has conducted a cross-sea training voyage. According to the navy, the scheduled training session is aimed at testing the carrier’s equipment.

The aircraft carrier was escorted by two missile destroyers, the Shenyang and Shijiazhuang, and two missile frigates, the Yantai and Weifang. The Liaoning was commissioned into the Navy last year.

Previous training missions have included landing and take-off drills by J-15 carrier-borne fighter jets.