WHY THE US SHOULDN’T FEAR CHINA’S NEW AIRCRAFT CARRIER
Michael Peck | June 28, 2022
A fleet does not a ship make.
The launch of China’s new aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has created a big stir in U.S. media. The reason may be more psychological than military. Since 1945, the U.S. has become accustomed to being the dominant aircraft-carrier power in the world. Other countries – Britain, France, even Australia, and Argentina – operate smaller carriers, but mostly with more limited capabilities. And Russia’s smoke-belching carrier Admiral Kuznetsov – famously damaged in 2018 when a dockyard crane fell on the ship – seems designed either for comic relief.
Only the U.S has a truly carrier-centric navy. But now along comes China which seems likely to build at least six aircraft carriers.
Yet there is more to a navy than the number of its ships. Tactics, experience, training, and traditions are also important factors. If sheer tonnage was the only criterion for an effective fleet, Britain’s Royal Navy would never have achieved maritime dominance for centuries.
https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/why-the-us-shouldnt-fear-chinas-new-aircraft-carrier/