Beijing:
China has unveiled the world’s largest amphibious assault ship as a demonstration of its growing military power. The launch came on the heels of reports that the communist country was conducting flight tests of a new sixth-generation heavy stealth fighter. The fighter jet, named J-36, reportedly features a tailless wing design for stealth and improved maneuverability.
China is expanding its military power on a wartime basis, and its defense spending will increase by 7.2% to 1.67 trillion yuan in 2024. China has also become the world’s largest shipbuilding power, with a production capacity 230 times that of the United States. .
About Chinese amphibious assault ships
China’s Type 076 amphibious assault ship entered a Shanghai shipyard on Friday, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) said in a statement.
The new independent ship, named “Sichuan” after a province in southwestern China, will be described by the People’s Liberation Army Navy as a “key asset” to advance the navy’s transformation and strengthen its long-range operations capabilities in the deep seas. has been praised by.
China’s first domestically developed and built Type 076 amphibious assault ship “Sichuan” departed from a shipyard in Shanghai on Sunday morning. https://t.co/jZwRmYGacl pic.twitter.com/FT9ZY0NbC1
— CCTV+ (@CCTV_Plus) December 29, 2024
According to a report by the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the full displacement of the Sichuan is more than 40,000 tons. It also reportedly has a double-island superstructure along with a full-length flight deck. In addition, the ship incorporates electromagnetic catapult and lightning arrester technology and is capable of carrying fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and amphibious equipment.
CNN reports that only one other military ship in service in the world uses an electromagnetic catapult system, the US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.
About China’s J-36 fighter jet
On Thursday, unidentified images of what is being called a Chinese sixth-generation fighter jet went viral on social media. The jet was reportedly named J-36.
The plane was seen flying over Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province in broad daylight, flanked by a fifth-generation J-20 fighter jet, the South China Morning Post reported. It features a triangular tailless design, leading to speculation that it could change the balance of global air superiority.
The Chinese government and military have not publicly commented on the jet. But the timing of its debut to coincide with the birthday of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, suggests a deliberate message.
The emergence of the J-36 represents a major leap forward in China’s military aviation capabilities, posing a challenge to existing U.S. air superiority. This comes a month after the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) unveiled its sixth-generation fighter jet, the Hundred Dri Bai Di Type B, at the Zhuhai Air Show in November.
Increase in attacks by China in the defense sector
Since the People’s Liberation Army’s first modernization push under Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, China has risen rapidly in the military. This included regular updates to its doctrine, organizational structure, equipment, and weapon systems to better reflect the changing needs of modern warfare.
However, Beijing’s rapid military buildup is tilting the scales of regional power in the Indo-Pacific region, which has been primarily dominated by the United States since World War II.
