China has begun construction at a shipyard in the north of the country on a huge warship that could become the new flagship of its navy. Its parameters known so far would probably overshadow similar ships of other countries. TASR informs about it on the basis of Wednesday’s report of the specialized portal Naval News.
With this step, Beijing is probably reacting to the plans of the US. At the end of 2025, US President Donald Trump announced that the US plans to develop a new super class of destroyers called “Trump”. US Navy Secretary John Phelan then declared that the new ship will be the “largest, deadliest and most versatile” ever launched.
The new US destroyer is expected to be approximately 260 meters long, 35 meters wide and displace around 35,000 tons, with its completion expected around 2030. According to Naval News, it will the Chinese vessel is about 50 meters longer, ten meters wider and will have more than twice the displacement. Moreover, the works are at an advanced stage – jits completion is planned for next year.
Russian Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruisers, which are currently the largest surface combatant ships, they have a displacement of only 28,000 tons when fully loaded, reminds the portal Naval News.
The Chinese vessel is supposed to have the most modern combat systems. Launchers for different types of missiles will be located in front and behind the command tower. A wide variety of weapon systems will be on board – from anti-submarine missiles and long-range missiles to anti-ship missiles. However, the fact that the ship will be equipped with three laser weapons attracts a lot of attention. This is a technology that China has apparently been working on for years.
The principle of laser weapons is to focus an extremely strong beam of photons on one place, which leads to devastating thermal effects. In theory, they are a low-cost means of hitting targets at short and longer distances. The Naval News portal writes that the Chinese high-power lasers of the LY-I type would they could be powerful enough to hit satellites in low Earth orbit.
This could give China a significant advantage in a direct confrontation, as it would potentially allow it to disrupt the communications and coordination of enemy airstrikes. In the field of laser weapons, the Israeli manufacturer Rafael was considered the leader until now with its Iron Beam system. China, however, according to available information is trying to take over dominance in this area as well.
