The future orbital aircraft carrier, if it is indeed built, could surpass virtually all existing aircraft carriers in the world, experts believe.
A video showcasing the latest developments in autonomous flying vehicles has been published on the YouTube channel of China Central Television. Numerous conventional drones were displayed, but among them stands out the orbital aircraft carrier Luan Niao, designed to launch unmanned fighters capable of firing missiles from the edge of the atmosphere, where space begins, reports Focus citing Futurism.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZU7wuFxtTOI?si=Im7QMYR5mSY0RRgI&start=850" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>The orbital aircraft carrier Luan Niao can be seen from the 14th minute of the video.
The future space aircraft carrier Luan Niao will have impressive dimensions. Its length is 242 meters, and its width is 684 meters. According to the designers, with such dimensions, the aircraft carrier could weigh up to 120,000 tons. This is more than the total mass of all operational aircraft carriers.
Luan Niao will be designed to accommodate up to 88 unmanned fighters Xuan Nu, capable of flying in the upper layers of the stratosphere. These fighters are a conceptual spacecraft, a hypothetical 6th generation jet aircraft. It is reported that these will be highly maneuverable stealth aircraft capable of launching hypersonic missiles.
According to Chinese media, the orbital aircraft carrier could be operational in 20-30 years. The very idea of this project emerged more than a decade ago and has been actively discussed at aerospace exhibitions since at least 2019.
Peter Layton, a defense expert from the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia, stated that if this orbital aircraft carrier is built, it will surpass virtually all existing aircraft carriers in the world. It will be able to operate far beyond the range of any defense systems.
Luan Niao is part of China's ambitious project "Southern Heavenly Gate," which aims to integrate the country's aerospace and defense sectors.
Still, Layton believes that this project is currently fantastical and very far from realization. The technology required for such an aircraft carrier to hover at the boundary of the Earth's atmosphere, where space begins, and launch fighters does not currently exist. It would require an enormous amount of energy, the expert says.
However, given the rapid pace of technological development in China in recent years, what seems impossible today may soon cease to be fantasy.
