US EditionChina Turns Cargo Ship Into Powerful Warship
The Zhong Da 79 cargo ship was refitted with containerized vertical-launch missile cells and defensive systems, reflecting China's expanding naval strike capacity, with over 50% of U.S. VLS cells matched.
- On Thursday, Naval News confirmed satellite imagery showing the Zhong Da 79 in Shanghai moored with containerised VLS modules and stacked containers as launch platforms.
- Reuters reported that the Department of Defense indicated China may be developing a launcher fitting inside standard containers for covert missile employment, reflecting concerns over naval modernization.
- Photos show containerised launch modules arranged across the deck with containers housing multiple tubes, plus a CIWS near the bow, decoy launchers, and radar and sensor enclosures near the bridge.
- The U.S. Department of Defense has previously warned about covert use of merchant ships and container launchers, shipping executives told Reuters they resist military roles, and Jaidev Jamwal wrote Friday that `Weaponization of civilian assets like this should be prohibited...fire on a real civilian ship!`.
- Approximating VLS with commercial fittings positions ships as auxiliary launch platforms, while by the end of 2024 PLAN surface ships carried over 50 percent of U.S. surface VLS cells, raising Taiwan conflict concerns.
14 Articles
14 Articles
In Shanghai a civilian merchant ship was probably converted into an armed ship. Photos show numerous rocket systems on board.
Recently, the Ministry of Defence of Taiwan has presented a civil vehicle equipped with an anti-tank missile launcher AGM-114 Helfiri, a telescope and optical sensors. The idea is to offer a mobile and hard-to-detection capability to strengthen the coastal defense of the island, if necessary.
On the net, images showing a Chinese merchant ship are circulating on which dozens of rocket launchers are placed, reminiscent of a concept that first emerged in the 1980s.
DECRYPTAGE - Off Shanghai, a container carrier was photographed with radars and sixty missile silos on board. In the run-up to an invasion of Taiwan, the militarization of the Chinese civilian fleet is worrying, but this new example also raises questions.
Satellite images show a Chinese cargo ship reconfigured with dozens of rocket launchers and radar systems, suggesting a new strategy of militarization of Beijing's commercial fleet
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