China has unveiled plans for a futuristic “Star Wars”-style warship that it claims could eventually deploy unmanned fighter jets and launch hypersonic missiles from space.
State media blasted out an over-the-top generated video on Tuesday of the Luanniao carrier apparently speeding on the edge of the atmosphere while firing off missiles and launching a barrage of jets.
The behemoth warship, which would be the biggest in the world, resembling something out of a “Star Wars” film, is slated to be nearly 800 feet long, Beijing claims.
The carrier will be designed to carry as many as 88 unmanned Xuan Nu fighter jets, according to state media.
China touted that the massive triangular warship could be operational within the next 30 years.
The Luanniao project, which is being developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, is among the country’s ambitious plans to massively expand its air and space capabilities.
Critics, however, have blasted the plans as far-reaching and nothing more than a “stunt.”
“For the external audience, it does paint the picture that they are working on technology that the region just can’t aspire to – it’s literally Star Wars stuff,” Peter Layton, a defense expert, told the UK’s Telegraph.
Layton, who is a visiting fellow at Australia’s Griffith Asia Institute, said the technology needed to create the aircraft and its capabilities doesn’t yet exist — noting it would need “enormous amounts of fuel” and a propulsion system that isn’t even in development.
He added that Beijing was renowned for using propaganda to “inspire the Chinese public” in an attempt to prove it is at the helm of innovation.
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