After the spy balloon shot down by the US in February off the coast of South Carolina, it is a large Chinese army airship that has military experts racking their brains on aerospace plans in the upper atmosphere of the Dragon’s armed forces. First spotted at a remote base in the desert of northwestern China, BlackSky satellite images obtained by CNN are from last November and could signal significant progress by Beijing on airships, more versatile and maneuverable than those hitherto known, writes Antonio Fatiguso in an in-depth study for Ansa.
The aircraft is about 30 meters, it is at the center of an airstrip almost a kilometer long in a desert military complex, probably in Xinjiang, the heart of other strategic assets among dozens of huge silos for long-range missiles with nuclear warheads and models in scale of American aircraft carriers of the Nimitz class for study and attack simulations. Several experts in the aerospace sector have confirmed the hypothesis of an airship, runway and huge hangar of almost 300 meters: a “submarine of the skies”, in other words, with possible propulsion and navigation capacity for prolonged overflight of an area .
But what could be the defense applications of an apparently dated and anachronistic medium? In general, explains a sector source to ANSA, “it is reasonable to think of a flying laboratory, perhaps to test quantum communications protected from interceptions or standards capable of neutralizing enemy systems”, such as a satellite network. “Of course, it’s something related to defense and security,” President Xi Jinping’s priorities.
Not surprisingly, in the midst of efforts to consolidate military forces in view of possible conflicts, starting with the hottest dossier in Taiwan, China enacted revisions to military service discipline on Monday, allowing retired personnel to be re-enlisted to ensure experienced soldiers in the People’s Liberation Army and the recruitment of science and engineering students trained in high technology – such as artificial intelligence and robotics – to fight new types of conflicts in domains such as space and cybersecurity.
The Chinese military is also focusing on research into “intelligence warfare” that makes use of artificial intelligence and other technologies. The new measures aim to “build a conscription system capable of responding, from peacetime to emergencies, quickly and without interruption,” commented Tan Kefei, spokesman for the defense ministry.