China has conducted new tests of attacks on US warships, this time using its newly developed hypersonic anti-ship missiles to destroy destroyers and aircraft carriers beyond defense. The most serious thing is that they are offensive exercises to practice attacks on ships moored in port, as happened in Pearl Harbor in 1941.

According to an analysis of the proving photographs — published by military expert, HI Sutton in the US Naval Institute newsletter — “the nature, location and strikes on these sites all suggest the targets are meant for testing ballistic missiles. These hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) are an increasingly significant threat to warships.”

What do the photos show?

The new photos were taken by Maxar Technologies satellites over the Takmalakan Desert, the great desert of the Uyghur people whom the Xi Jinping government massacres and enslaves in concentration camps. The location of the new tests is not far from other tests in which the Chinese military has carried out full-scale attacks on aircraft carriers and other warships simulating a location on the high seas, exercises designed to prepare for a potential conflict with the navy of the United States in the Pacific.

The big difference in these new tests is how they are configured: instead of simulating an attack on the high seas, the Chinese have built these targets ‘moored’ to reproductions of ports of American naval bases.

What is most worrying is the apparent accuracy of these weapons, the ground-launched DF-21D and DF-26, as well as bomber- and cruiser-launched versions. Previously, Sutton says, anti-ship cruise missiles could not be used in attacks against ships at naval bases. Its flight and aiming systems are not intelligent and precise enough to be used in the complex physical setting of a port.

Sutton claims that these photos demonstrate that these new hypersonic missiles could indeed distinguish ships correctly to “decapitated before they can escape to open water or disperse”. The author of the article points to the analysis of another defense expert — Damien Symons — who says that “The layout of the targets is very calculated. The orientations, shapes and sizes are consistent across multiple targets. There is nothing haphazard about these sites.”

“Targets appear to be shaped by laying metal sheets on the ground,” says Symons, “a different material than docks and buildings. It may reflect heat or radar differently, this could also give us an indication of the complex systems and effort behind these experiments.”

America’s nightmare

The missile launches, as well as the astounding increase in the number of Chinese military vessels — China already has the world’s largest fleet, with 355 ships and expanding — are clear indicators that China is preparing for a possible Pacific conflict.

After all, the Chinese President has clearly telegraphed it, declaring the annexation of Taiwan as the main and inescapable objective of the Asian country’s imperialist policy. 

After the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, China has not only shown its support for Vladimir Putin with tangible deeds, but has also increased its military exercises in an increasingly aggressive attitude towards the island country.

But this new development of testing attacks on US ships moored at naval bases led to a much more serious and feared scenario since the Japanese forces commanded by Admiral Yamamoto devastated the port of Pearl Harbor. 

That attack by Japanese naval aviation was unstoppable thanks to a surprise factor that today would be impossible with the same weapons. 

Unfortunately, the futuristic weapons that China has tested in the desert reopen the possibility of a port attack with no possibility of defense until they develop new countermeasures.

Image Credit: Getty

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