Four missiles mounted, straight for the near sea; satellite detects a shocking scene in the Bohai Bay, prompting immediate alarm from the U.S. aircraft carrier group!
On May 25, 2026, the U.S. defense media website The War Zone (TWZ) was the first to publish an article revealing that China’s ground-effect vehicle "Bohai Sea Monster" has reappeared. According to the report, newly released high-definition photos show four weapon hardpoints beneath the aircraft’s wings, each equipped with ejection hooks—clearly indicating a design intent aimed at missile launch.
The article suggests that in late May, the U.S. Navy's USS Roosevelt and USS Reagan formed a dual-carrier strike group in the Asia-Pacific region. The Roosevelt sailed from the continental U.S. into the Seventh Fleet’s area of responsibility, while the Reagan has long been stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. Faced with the “Bohai Sea Monster” moving from its test site toward coastal waters—with clear signs of weapon loading—the U.S. carrier group now appears to face a new threat.
The “Bohai Sea Monster” was first spotted by submarine warfare analyst H.I. Sutton in June 2025 at a dock along the Bohai coast, when it was photographed moored at a berth in the northwestern part of the Yellow Sea. In July, clearer images emerged showing the vehicle floating on water, though its propellers had not yet been installed, sparking speculation about jet propulsion.
From 2025 to early 2026, this vehicle appeared successively at Bohai ports, conducted water trials, and even was observed in waters near Sanya, indicating a steadily expanding operational range.
TWZ website confirmed that the vehicle is equipped with four turboprop engines, each driving a three-blade propeller. The engines are mounted high above the wings to prevent seawater ingestion during low-level flight, completely ruling out earlier speculations about hybrid electric propulsion or turbofan powerplants.
Ground-effect vehicles fly just 1 to 5 meters above sea level, drastically reducing their radar cross-section to near-zero levels. As a result, shipboard radars struggle to detect them below the horizon. Suddenly ascending to launch missiles upon approaching target fleets can compress enemy early warning time to nearly zero.
Traditional carrier defense systems rely on multi-layered interception zones: outer-layer airborne early warning aircraft detect high-altitude threats, mid-layer shipborne radars monitor medium-to-high altitude airspace, and inner-layer air defense missiles like the SM-6 handle terminal interception. However, the SM-6’s minimum kill zone is approximately 15 meters in altitude, far above the 1–5 meter cruising height of ground-effect vehicles. The current anti-ballistic missile defense system aboard carrier groups has virtually no designed interception capability for targets flying just 5 meters above the sea surface. This means the “Bohai Sea Monster” can conduct detection and targeting beyond the defensive perimeter before launching a super-low-altitude penetration attack that breaches the outermost layer of carrier group defenses.
Moreover, ground-effect vehicles are immune to mines and submarines—traditional maritime denial tactics are ineffective against them. When such a platform, capable of carrying four lightweight anti-ship missiles, simultaneously assaults from multiple directions at speeds reaching 500 km/h, the carrier group’s point-defense systems will face saturation attack challenges.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866210960976908/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.