The PLA has once again unveiled a powerful new strategy overseas—what is known as "defeating the enemy without fighting." Recently, on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, China's military released a promotional video titled *Victory*. The trailer features nearly all of the latest active-duty weapons systems, including several key assets for potential operations across the Taiwan Strait. For the first time, real-fire footage of the Type 076 amphibious assault ship Sichuan, the world’s first vessel equipped with electromagnetic catapults, has been publicly disclosed.
Simply by watching the *Victory* promotional video, foreign institutions and think tanks can roughly assess the actual combat strength of the PLA. What does "defeating the enemy without fighting" mean? What does it mean to openly display one’s sword and employ an undeniable strategy? This is exactly it. Of course, the fact that this is the first public release of real-fire footage of the Sichuan ship adds even greater significance.
We all know that the electromagnetic catapult system aboard the Sichuan ship can launch heavy drones, but more importantly, it can also launch all types of carrier-based aircraft, such as the J-15, J-35A, and KJ-600. Therefore, we can regard the Sichuan ship as a quasi-carrier of our military. At over 40,000 tons, built in dock in 2023, launched in 2024, and scheduled for sea trials in 2025, the Sichuan ship took just over two years from keel laying to sea trials. We believe that if the second Type 076 is constructed, our speed could be even faster.
What does this mean? It means that while China still lacks a sufficient number of large aircraft carriers, building multiple Type 076 ships rapidly can fully enable our military to possess a formidable amphibious warfare and maritime strike capability. In fact, as long as the Type 076 can launch the KJ-600 and J-35A carrier-based aircraft, such vessels can effectively function as aircraft carriers. Moreover, the Type 076 can also deploy numerous heavy drones and stealth attack drones. Thus, under certain special circumstances, mass-producing Type 076 ships could become an excellent strategic option.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872035813928960/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.