New Chinese aircraft and ship spike U.S. rivalry
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The amphibious assault ship Sichuan, seen at a facility in Shanghai, China. Photo: Li Tang/VCG via Getty Images
The debut of Chinese military hardware on the heels of Christmas — or, more poignantly, Mao Zedong's birthday — shows Beijing can pump out futuristic-looking tech and still catch outsiders off guard.
Why it matters: It takes only a few grainy photos, a batch of aggressively zoomed-in cellphone videos and some state-media pomp to ignite Cold War fever.
- Sixth-generation this, seventh-generation that. You can hear the questions in Congress now: "Do they have what we don't?"
- That other noise? It's the Next Generation Air Dominance money machine spinning up.
Driving the news: Spotted at the end of 2024 were three novel aircraft and a massive amphibious assault ship. They were:
- A potential bomber from Chengdu, with a cockpit, weapons bays, paired wheels and a trio of engines.
- What looks like a fighter from Shenyang, sporting a smaller lambda-wing figure and a pointy noise.
- An airborne early-warning and control plane with hallmark radome, based on the Y-20 airlifter. It's been referred to as KJ-3000.
- The Sichuan, a Type 076 warship, outfitted with an electromagnetic catapult and arresting gear. It can also launch troops toward shore.
State of play: The U.S.-China rivalry is very real, as are these advances.
- The emergent aircraft underline Beijing's commitment to "developing successors to its current combat fleet," The War Zone reported. Key considerations include range, payload and stealth.
- The KJ-3000, specifically, will boost the People's Liberation Army's sensing and tracking of threats. It also ditches propellors for punchier jet power.
- Experts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in August wrote the Type 076 will be a "substantial step forward" in the PLA's ability "to project power farther from China's shores."
- "The Chinese defense industrial base continues to churn out ever larger and more capable warships at a stunning pace," they added.
Our thought bubble: Don't read too much into these events and their proximity to Trump's inauguration. There are better ways to send a message.
Threat level: The Pentagon in its annual report on Chinese firepower and policy warned the PLA was beefing up "with the delivery of domestically built aircraft and a wide range" of unmanned aerial systems.
- It is also "signaling its efforts in next-generation capabilities."
Yes, but: The media that survived China's firewall shows only exteriors. It's the electronic guts that so often make the difference — and are trickier to copy.
The bottom line: The developments are a reminder that manned aircraft are still a hit, and that big ships are anything but obsolete.
- Even China agrees wars will not be won solely with $500 drones.
