China’s DF-26B Missile is a Real Aircraft Carrier Killer (archived)
China’s DF-26B is the primary ASBM system that China has. Unlike the Houthis, China can mass produce these systems and deploy them to the frontlines of the Indo-Pacific in any military engagement with the Americans in relatively short order.
In fact, in 2021, U.S. Navy Vice-Admiral Jeffrey Tussler testified to Congress about how the Chinese are “pour[ing] a lot of money in the ability to rim their coast in the South China Sea with anti-ship ballistic missile capability.”
So, if the Houthis can complicate the U.S. Navy’s ability to reliably project power into regions near their coastline you can bet that China will have little problem with keeping the U.S. Navy surface fleet over the horizon while the Chinese military runs roughshod over their region.
During his 2021 Congressional testimony, Adm. Tussler described the Chinese deployment of their DF-26B systems as highly “destabilizing.” That’s because these weapons are so effective that large swarms of them could easily sink an American aircraft carrier or any other kind of U.S. Navy surface ship. Even destroyers would not be immune.
That’s the experience that U.S. Navy Capt. Justin Smith had when his destroyer was confronted with the Houthis’ ASBM capabilities in the Red Sea. Specifically, Capt. Smith described himself as being in “disbelief” at how much of a threat the Houthi ASBM weapons were to his ship.
The quantity of China’s arsenal, and the geography from where it will be launched, all works against the Americans in any potential conflict between the two powers. The DF-26B is but one of several systems that China has developed for its comprehensive anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capability all of which are meant to stymie U.S. military power projection into regions that China covets.
The United States has been outpaced by China when it comes to its A2/AD capabilities in the South China Sea. It is unlikely to get any better for the Americans. The DF-26B is a surface warship killer. Should any U.S. Navy warship get within range, in the event of a conflict, it will be a bad day for the Navy.
Related:
Anti-Access refers to any action, activity, or capacity, usually long-range, that is intended to prevent an advancing military force from accessing an operational area. Area denial is described as any action, activity, or capability, usually short-range, that is intended to limit an adversary force’s freedom of action inside an operational area. Long-range artillery and rocket weapons, air defenses, littoral anti-ship capabilities, and layered, integrated long-range precision-strike systems are all part of the threat A2/AD defense architecture. China’s advanced A2/AD system includes missiles and hypersonic weapons, which the US lacks defense against. China is also developing microwave-photonic radar systems to track incoming hypersonic missiles, potentially enabling defense against powerful militaries’ latest offensive technologies.
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