by Kris Osborn, Warrior

With the world’s largest 370-ship Navy, a third aircraft carrier at sea and the rapid addition of new drone-launching amphibs, destroyers and guided missile cruisers, the People’s Liberation Army - Navy (PLAN) represents part of what the Pentagon’s most recent China Report refers to as the “pacing threat” for the US military. 

The 2024 text of the Pentagon’s annual “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” details a number of more recent PLAN initiatives which go beyond the Pentagon’s 2023 report.  In a simple sense, the PLAN has surged forward with continued shipbuilding, fleet expansion and weapons modernization at a pace some at the Pentagon might call staggering. 

The largest development could likely be seen as the arrival of China’s third aircraft carrier the CV-18 Fujian which is now already in the water undergoing sea trials. The Fujian is seen as a rather transparent US Navy Ford-class copycat at is includes a large, flat deck and electromagnetic catapult.   The PLAN has already mirrored or copied the US by conducting its own war preparation “dual-carrier” training exercises wherein two carriers operate in close coordination to massively amplify air attack possibilities. 

3-PLAN Carriers at Sea

In recent years China’s Liaoning first carrier and first indigenously built carrier called the Shandong, conducted joint-carrier operations in what appeared to be a deliberate show of force to rival US Navy power-projection capabilities.  In September of 2024, China operated 3 carriers at sea at one time including the Liaoning, Shandong and Fujian. 

Apart from many training exercises and power-projection demonstrations, the PLAN is simply massively accelerating its ship-building campaign. The Pentagon report says the PLAN is continuing construction of RENHAI class guided-missile cruisers, LUYANG III MOD class guided-missile destroyers and JIANGKAI II MOD and JIANGKAI III classes of guided missile Frigates during the first half of 2024. 

The rapid addition of new amphibious assault ships is a key part of this equation as the PLAN is now adding a fourth YUSHEN class amphibs  and beginning construction of a brand new YULAN class of LHA. 

Drone Launching Amphibs

Arguably, one of the most significant and potentially impactful elements of the PLAN section of the Pentagon report is the finding that there are plans to launch drones from this new YULAN LHA using an electromagnetic catapult.  The US Navy has operated for years with the technological ability to launch drones from carriers and is now building special drone command and control centers for its ships, yet China’s potential ability to rival this seems quite significant as it could potentially close a key gap with the US. As long as 10-years ago, the US Navy launched an X-47B demonstrator drone from an aircraft carrier and now flies the emerging carrier-launched MQ-25 Stingray refueler. Additional US drones likely are, have been or will be launched from carriers as well.    

China’s move to launch drones from amphibs is significant in large measure because it could greatly increase its maritime power projection abilities. This is an area where the PLAN remains behind the US Navy, because the Navy operates F-35B launching amphibs and F-35C launching carriers.  Apart from the now fast-arriving J-31, the PLAN has had “no” ability to project 5th-generation air power from the ocean. This is quite limiting yet it might be changing quickly with the arrival of new ship-launched drones and the rapid development of the J-31 carrier-launched 5th-gen stealth fighter which is now moving beyond the prototype phase into production. 

PLAN Global Expansion

What this amounts to, among many things, is that the PLAN will surge even further with its plan to explain its naval influence and power-projection capabilities beyond the First Island Chain. 

“In 2023, the PLAN continued to grow its ability to perform missions beyond the First Island Chain (FIC) by conducting the first extended area deployment of its new YUSHEN-class LHA and carrying out three deployments with CV-17 Shandong to the Philippine Sea, a record number for any PLAN carrier in a calendar year,” the Pentagon report says. 

Kris Osborn is the  President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters  Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.