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AllAfrica
4 days ago
- Politics
- AllAfrica
China's Fujian carrier flexes mass swarm attack power
China's newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, isn't just a leap in hardware. It marks a bold shift in maritime doctrine that aims to overcome the limits of its smaller predecessors and project power far beyond the First Island Chain. This month, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, that China's third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, is on track to conduct 'deck load strikes,' a type of mass swarm attack involving the simultaneous launch of numerous aircraft. This marks the first time state media has publicly acknowledged the capability, which had previously been the subject of analyst speculation. The tactic, pioneered by the US Navy during the Vietnam War and known as an 'Alpha strike,' aims to overwhelm enemy defenses through rapid saturation, securing early detection and first-strike advantage. The CCTV report noted that Fujian's electromagnetic catapult system significantly boosts sortie rates over older ski-jump designs, laying the technical foundation for such operations. Military analyst Cao Weidong noted these strikes would push the carrier's systems to the limit, enabling it to destroy, suppress or deter enemy forces and support amphibious operations. The Fujian, launched in 2022 and undergoing steady sea trials since May 2023, is expected to be commissioned by year-end, joining the Liaoning and Shandong to form a three-carrier fleet. This fleet would significantly enhance China's naval escort and strike capabilities. The report portrays Fujian as central to a 'historic leap' in China's maritime strike capacity, with its full combat potential hinging on the success of deck load strike training. China is leveraging Fujian's deck load strike capability to overcome the limitations of its smaller carriers. This shift marks a doctrinal leap toward using large carriers as power projection tools and asymmetric counterweights to superior US naval forces under an anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) umbrella. China's smaller carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, face an offense-defense dilemma. With limited aircraft numbers, committing more jets to offense weakens defense, while holding back reduces strike power. According to China Power, the Liaoning has an air wing comprising 18-24 J-15 fighters and 17 helicopters, while its sister ship, the Shandong, has a slightly larger air wing, with four more fixed-wing aircraft and eight additional helicopters. Fujian's air wing dwarfs those of its predecessors, with China Power estimating 60 aircraft onboard, including 40 fighters, helicopters and early warning platforms. Liaoning and Shandong would be hard-pressed to mount an Alpha Strike. A December 2024 Citadel article notes that an Alpha Strike from the USS Harry S Truman consists of 36 F/A-18 E/F fighters launching 144 air-to-surface missiles, including the AGM-88 anti-radiation missile. Given Fujian's air wing and electromagnetic launch catapult, it should, on paper, be capable of generating similar airpower surges. That capability may fit within a broader asymmetric naval doctrine against more powerful US carrier battlegroups. Daniel Rice notes in a July 2024 report for the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) that the People's Liberation Army-Navy's (PLAN) carrier doctrine centers on a three-layer defense system, enabling blue-water operations with growing independence and reach. According to Rice, the carrier battlegroup is organized around concentric defense zones: the 'Outer Defense Zone' (185–400 kilometers) patrolled by submarines and J-15 fighters for long-range strike and ISR; the 'Middle Defense Zone' (45–185 kilometers) covered by destroyers and frigates with radar, vertical launch systems (VLS), and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) assets; and the 'Inner Defense Zone' (100 meters–45 kilometers) protected by close-in weapons and point-defense systems. Rice describes the carrier as a command hub supported by replenishment ships for sustained operations. He adds that air operations follow either 'split wave' or 'continuous' patterns, optimized for saturation strikes or persistent air presence, indicating doctrinal experimentation. Rice concludes that the PLAN's focus on layered defense, integrated air-sea coordination and logistics highlights its transition from coastal defense to power projection, with battlegroups designed to dominate maritime airspace, support amphibious landings and counter multi-domain threats. Such defenses are essential for China to push through the First Island Chain via the Miyako Strait and Bashi Channel, strategic chokepoints that Japanese anti-ship missile batteries, combat aircraft and submarines could cover. Supporting that point, China recently operated two carrier battlegroups simultaneously beyond the First Island Chain, a first with profound implications. Jennifer Parker notes in a Breaking Defense article this month that among the few countries with aircraft carriers, even fewer can deploy two simultaneously at sea. She says China's dual deployment signals growing blue-water capabilities and intent to operate beyond its near seas. However, Ben Ho writes in a September 2024 Breaking Defense article that instead of engaging US forces in a Midway-style encounter, China likely sees its carriers as 'fleets-in-being' operating within an A2/AD framework. A cornerstone of that A2/AD posture is the DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM), also known as the 'carrier killer.' The US Department of Defense's (DOD) 2024 China Military Power Report (CMPR) describes it as a dual-capable missile with a 4,000-kilometer range, capable of threatening US carriers from deep within the Chinese mainland. The report adds it may also be capable of land-attack missions, putting US bases like Guam at risk. China's carriers could thus operate under this missile umbrella, potentially deterring US intervention in the Western Pacific. Chen Yu-fu and William Hetherington write in an October 2024 Taipei Times article that a three-carrier Chinese force could position itself 300 to 800 kilometers east of Taiwan, outside the reach of Taipei's anti-ship missiles. Chen and Hetherington argue that this posture enables China to pressure Taiwan from both the mainland and the Pacific while deterring US and allied action. With Fujian at the center of a three-carrier fleet, China is adopting a blue-water strategy that blends massed airpower, layered defense and strategic deterrence into a credible counterweight against superior US naval forces.
Miami Herald
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Chinese Navy Announces Major Warfighting Milestone
The Chinese navy, currently the largest in the world by hull count, has recently reached a major milestone by equipping each of three fleets with an oceangoing hospital ship, which experts claim can be deployed simultaneously to support different combat fronts. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Defense Ministry for further comment by email. China has more than 370 naval vessels, organized into fleets assigned to the Northern Theater Command, which is based in the Yellow Sea, the Eastern Theater Command, which is based in the East China Sea, and the Southern Theater Command that faces the South China Sea. China has ongoing territorial disputes in the East and South China seas with Japan and the Philippines, respectively. Meanwhile, the Eastern Theater Command is responsible for military operations concerning Taiwan, a self-governed island claimed by Beijing. While the Chinese military has commissioned three hospital ships, the United States currently operates two, serving as what the Navy calls "afloat, mobile, acute surgical medical facilities" to support military, disaster relief, and humanitarian missions worldwide. In a video released on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, the Chinese military's media wing reported that the third indigenously built 10,000-ton-class oceangoing hospital ship, CNS Auspicious Ark, recently held a medical rescue exercise in the Yellow Sea. The newly unveiled hospital ship has been assigned to the Northern Theater Command, the Chinese navy confirmed on Friday, adding that it is capable of providing medical services to deployed naval task groups and troops stationed on remote islands and reefs. In addition to the Auspicious Ark, its two sister ships, CNS Peace Ark and CNS Silk Road Ark, are assigned to the Eastern and Southern Theater Commands, respectively. Each ship is equipped with 300 patient beds, the state-run China Daily reported. According to the state-run Global Times, the new ship is equipped with "cutting-edge medical and health support facilities," including eight operating rooms. It can provide "early-stage treatment and specialized care" during wartime to reduce combat losses. Chinese military expert Cao Weidong told the China Central Television that each of the three theater command fleets now has its own hospital ship for support, which can be redeployed to other theaters if the intensity of war or military operations increases. With the introduction of the third floating hospital, the Chinese navy is able to provide health care to troops taking part in escort missions in the Gulf of Aden, as well as those stationed on islands and reefs that scattered across the South China Sea, Cao explained. Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times: "[The three Chinese hospital ships] represent a key indicator of the [Chinese] navy's modernized medical support capabilities. Their commissioning significantly elevates the overall standard of naval healthcare services." The China Central Television reported: "The Auspicious Ark not only has outstanding advantages in field surgery, capable of handling special injuries such as blast wounds and burns, but it is also able to respond to trauma and infection cases caused by sudden natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, demonstrating its advantages in humanitarian rescue operations." It remains to be seen whether China will deploy one of its oceangoing hospital ships for an overseas humanitarian medical mission under Mission Harmony this year. The most recent deployment was carried out by the Peace Ark from last June to January. Related Articles Stock Market Sinks After Trump Threatens Tariffs on Apple, EUCrowd's Response to Howard Lutnick's Price Rise Question Goes ViralHow China Is Fighting Back in Its Manufacturing War With the USTrump Nuclear Power Update as New Order May Bring Back Cold War-Era Act 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
23-05-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
Chinese Navy Announces Major Warfighting Milestone
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Chinese navy, currently the largest in the world by hull count, has recently reached a major milestone by equipping each of three fleets with an oceangoing hospital ship, which experts claim can be deployed simultaneously to support different combat fronts. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Defense Ministry for further comment by email. Why It Matters China has more than 370 naval vessels, organized into fleets assigned to the Northern Theater Command, which is based in the Yellow Sea, the Eastern Theater Command, which is based in the East China Sea, and the Southern Theater Command that faces the South China Sea. China has ongoing territorial disputes in the East and South China seas with Japan and the Philippines, respectively. Meanwhile, the Eastern Theater Command is responsible for military operations concerning Taiwan, a self-governed island claimed by Beijing. While the Chinese military has commissioned three hospital ships, the United States currently operates two, serving as what the Navy calls "afloat, mobile, acute surgical medical facilities" to support military, disaster relief, and humanitarian missions worldwide. What To Know In a video released on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, the Chinese military's media wing reported that the third indigenously built 10,000-ton-class oceangoing hospital ship, CNS Auspicious Ark, recently held a medical rescue exercise in the Yellow Sea. The newly unveiled hospital ship has been assigned to the Northern Theater Command, the Chinese navy confirmed on Friday, adding that it is capable of providing medical services to deployed naval task groups and troops stationed on remote islands and reefs. In addition to the Auspicious Ark, its two sister ships, CNS Peace Ark and CNS Silk Road Ark, are assigned to the Eastern and Southern Theater Commands, respectively. Each ship is equipped with 300 patient beds, the state-run China Daily reported. According to the state-run Global Times, the new ship is equipped with "cutting-edge medical and health support facilities," including eight operating rooms. It can provide "early-stage treatment and specialized care" during wartime to reduce combat losses. Chinese military expert Cao Weidong told the China Central Television that each of the three theater command fleets now has its own hospital ship for support, which can be redeployed to other theaters if the intensity of war or military operations increases. With the introduction of the third floating hospital, the Chinese navy is able to provide health care to troops taking part in escort missions in the Gulf of Aden, as well as those stationed on islands and reefs that scattered across the South China Sea, Cao explained. People visit the Chinese navy hospital ship CNS Peace Ark in Tianjin, China, on April 23. People visit the Chinese navy hospital ship CNS Peace Ark in Tianjin, China, on April 23. Tong Yu/China News Service/VCG via AP What People Are Saying Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times: "[The three Chinese hospital ships] represent a key indicator of the [Chinese] navy's modernized medical support capabilities. Their commissioning significantly elevates the overall standard of naval healthcare services." The China Central Television reported: "The Auspicious Ark not only has outstanding advantages in field surgery, capable of handling special injuries such as blast wounds and burns, but it is also able to respond to trauma and infection cases caused by sudden natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, demonstrating its advantages in humanitarian rescue operations." What Happens Next? It remains to be seen whether China will deploy one of its oceangoing hospital ships for an overseas humanitarian medical mission under Mission Harmony this year. The most recent deployment was carried out by the Peace Ark from last June to January.
South China Morning Post
06-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
China gives glimpse of Fujian aircraft carrier's catapult technology in action
China's state broadcaster has given a glimpse of the cutting-edge jet launch system in action on the country's most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian Advertisement CCTV included the footage of the electromagnetic catapult system in a report last week, with a view from an unidentified aircraft hurtling along the deck. But the report also dampened speculation that the Fujian would be ready for service this year, pointing out that the complexity of the launch system meant that it would need longer sea trials than China's other carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong. The short footage was accompanied by vision of an air traffic control officer on the bridge of the Fujian giving take-off clearance to an aircraft on 'position one' of the carrier's launch system. The report did not specify where or when the manoeuvres were filmed. According to the CCTV report, the Fujian's crew have done a 'complete reform' in take-off and landing training to master the catapult system – the world's second after the USS Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers. Advertisement The report quoted commentator Cao Weidong, who said the adoption of the electromagnetic catapult system meant that the Fujian's carrier-based aircraft would take off with full fuel and full ordnance. 'Fixed-wing early warning aircraft may board the ship soon. It may also test small aircraft such as drones,' he said.
