The concept belongs firmly in the world of science fiction, centered around the Luanniao, a colossal airborne ship 242 meters long, with a wingspan of 684 meters and weighing approximately 120,000 tons. Yet it could turn out to be considerably more fiction than science.
In theory, the Luanniao would dwarf any warship and outweigh any supertanker. Beijing claims that unmanned space fighters called Xuannu could launch from the deck, while the aircraft carrier’s hypersonic missiles could attack targets both in the atmosphere and in orbital space.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV recently gave the world a taste of what the country’s military scientists are developing, broadcasting photorealistic images of the Luanniao hovering above Earth, deploying space planes and launching rockets. reports the Daily Star.
Nevertheless, the proposal goes far beyond current technological possibilities. Experts suggest the display looks less like a concrete plan and more like a strategic statement: a “don’t test us” warning aimed firmly at adversaries.
Analysts suggest that China is borrowing from the US Cold War strategy, when the threat of the ‘Star Wars’ initiative caused major concerns among the Soviet Union in the 1980s. President Reagan’s ambitious plan, which promised to intercept nuclear missiles from space, was never practically feasible, but still so convulsed the Soviet Union that some believe it contributed to its collapse.
Technical experts insist that current rocket technology falls woefully short of launching anything approaching this size. Assembling such a system in orbit would pose a huge logistical, financial and engineering challenge – covering everything from power generation and propulsion to thermal management and debris protection.
Nevertheless, there is little doubt that China’s broader ambitions are real: from anti-satellite weapons to laser technology and hypersonic systems, Beijing is channeling significant resources into space-related military capabilities.
One of the most recent successful tests was a new “phantom space attack” system that can deceive missile defense networks by transmitting false target signatures from space during a nuclear attack.
The technology works by deploying three spacecraft that create radio jamming, fooling adversaries by sending interception hardware to incorrect locations.
Although China possesses significantly fewer nuclear warheads than America and Russia, the Chinese government has made substantial investments in developing alternative approaches, including techniques to compromise missile defense infrastructure.
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