What China's 'World-Class Navy' Means for the U.S. and Asia

"China now has "a world-class Navy," retired Rear Admiral Mike Studeman, a former Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence,told The Cipher Brief. "It's not, 'Hey, we're going to achieve this in 2049.' And it's just not in the numbers, it's in the quality. These ships are modern by any standard. The recently commissioned is the first Chinese carrier (and only the second in the world, after the U.S. Gerald R. Ford) to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults for launching aircraft."

"Experts say the recent milestones are the latest evidence of gains that have seen China's Navy surpass the U.S. fleet in overall numbers while boosting the quality of its vessels as well. "It's impressive," former Rear Admiral, Mark Montgomery, told The Cipher Brief. "They're building a hundred merchant ships for every one we build, and two warships for every one we build. And they have quantitatively exceeded the size of our U.S. naval ship numbers.""

China has developed a world-class navy with modern, high-quality vessels and advanced technologies, including electromagnetic catapults on its newly commissioned carrier. A new sophisticated amphibious assault ship was constructed in just over two years. U.S. naval leadership is monitoring how those aircraft carriers and large assault ships will be utilized globally. China's fleet now exceeds the U.S. Navy in overall numbers and maintains rapid shipbuilding rates, producing far more merchant vessels and multiple warships for every U.S. ship built. The United States retains superior capabilities in submarines, destroyers, and carriers, but the capability gap has narrowed rapidly.

Read at The Cipher Brief