China appears to have turned a civilian container carrier into a missile battery, fitted with sensors and possibly Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars.
Containerised weapon systems—already being pursued by the US—integrate missiles, launchers, radars, and air defence systems into civilian shipping containers, enabling deployment of merchant ships for surprise strikes and surge capacity.
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According to multiple media reports, the medium-sized cargo ship, Zhong Da 79, features containerised vertical launchers, showcasing the ability of China to turn a commercial fleet into a potential arsenal ship. The Chinese-flagged container feeder may have undergone refits over the past year and could host 60 full-size containerised missile cells, apart from an air defence radar and weapons system, according to a Maritime Executive report.
The vertical launch cell (VLS) systems on such commercial cargo ships enhance the capacity of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in potential conflicts, as this offers an element of surprise.
What makes this configuration deadly is the possibility of positioning the cargo ship as a picket or arsenal vessel for area air defence, or as a heavily armed surface combatant for saturation attacks, blending perfectly with civilian traffic and offering a surprise element.
Ranked the third most powerful military in the world, the PLAN has been expanding its capabilities, posing a challenge to the US naval dominance. This appears to be another element in its modernisation programme, which aims to expand the PLAN’s strength to 395 ships by 2025 and 435 ships by 2030. While there is no official confirmation of the PLAN turning cargo ships into floating missile launchers, China does have massive fleets of cargo ships, which the PLAN can possibly turn to its advantage.