Chinese cargo ship retrofitted with weapons systems sets sailBy Hollie Younger / Staff writerA large Chinese merchant vessel equipped with weapons systems has been spotted departing port and is possibly set to conduct testing, military expert Wang Chen-ming (王臻明) said today on Facebook. The Zhongda 79 (中達79) civilian container ship has reportedly been fitted with weapons systems, including vertical launching systems, four close-in weapon systems (CIWS) and decoy launchers, he said. The “military-civil fusion” strategy of disguising weapons systems within standard shipping containers is a “gray zone” warfare tactic to complicate targeting decisions for Beijing’s opponents, a TechTimes report said. Armaments included a system resembling a loyal wingman — an artificial intelligence-controlled uncrewed aerial vehicle designed to fly alongside crewed fighter jets — and an electromagnetic aircraft launch system used to launch aircraft from the deck of naval aircraft carriers, Wang said. However, only live-fire tests would prove whether the onboard weapons systems are fully operational, he added.
