Today, Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War, is coming out.
By August Cole and Eastern Arsenal's very own P.W. Singer, it's a novel about what might happen if the brewing Cold War between the U.S. and China were ever to turn hot.
Here's a handy visual guide to the arsenal of the Directorate—China's fictional new government:
Zheng He
www.top81.cn
The
Zheng He, one of the first Type 055 cruisers, serves as the proud
flagship for the joint Sino-Russian naval taskforce in the north
Pacific. As the pride of the Directorate's naval forces, the Zheng He
can carry 128 long range anti-air, anti-ship and land attack missiles,
as well as a big 130mm cannon.
H/PJ-38
he_andy at lt.cjdby.net
The
H/PJ-38 cannon is the main gun found on Type 052D destroyers and the
might Type 055 cruiser. It fires 90kg shells at distances of over 30km,
making it good not just for shore bombardment, but also for long range
gunnery duels with enemy warships in a pinch.
Kunming
f.kscan
The
first 052D destroyer, the 7,500 ton Kunming, was launched in late 2013
and commissioned in March 2014 (its hull number, 172, was not painted on
then). The 052D, a modern destroyer with better primary radars than
current AEGIS warships, serves as the mainstay of the PLAN, and later
the Directorate Navy.
Holographic Ground Control Station
Wendell Minnick, at Defense News
The
Holographic Ground Control Station (GCS), displayed at the Zhuhai 2014
Airshow, allows for other personal to observe the drone pilot's
operations. A holographic control station on a major warship, like say
the Type 055, creates an immersive but accessible way for commanders to
get a grasp of the big picture without drowning in abstract data.
VR Headsets put PLANAF Pilots into 3D
sunmingchi via lt.cjdby.net
Right
now, Chinese pilots use 3D headsets to train in a virtual reality (VR)
enabled environment. As VR sets grow in capability, military personnel
and hackers could use them not for practice, but as essential equipment
for doing everything from calling in airstrikes to hacking enemy
networks.
Jiaolong
Chinese Internet
The
Jiaolong (Flood Dragon) is a 3-person deep sea submersible that can
dive down to 7,500 meters below the ocean surface to investigate the
seabed. The Directorate's usage of deep sea submersible is actually the
first step to the next great Pacific war.
Tiangong 3
bisbos.net
This
CGI of the Tiangong 3 space station shows three Tiangong space station
modules, a Shenzhou manned module underneath and a Tianzhou automated
resupply vehicle all docked together. Theoretically, the Tiangong 3
could be surreptitiously armed with an anti-satellite laser for a "space
Pearl Harbor". Theoretically.
Kicking High
china.com
This
new Chinese exoskeleton is both strong and agile enough to support its
wearer engaging in high side kicking, flexibility is a key requirement
for infantry power armor. Directorate troops wear exoskeletons on the
streets of occupied territory, giving them agile strength for carrying
heavy weapons and sprint apprehend to errant NSM activists.
ZH-05
Hongjian via China Defense Forum
The
ZH-05 is China's smart rifle, succeeding where the US Army's OICW
failed. With fancy sights, a programmable grenades set for directional
fragmentation and airburst explosives, and a hard hitting 5.8mm rifle
under the grenade launcher, the ZH-05 will give Directorate forces a
high tech edge against any urban insurgent in the world.
ZTZ-99A
FORBIN via Sinodefense Forum
The
ZTZ-99A tank, is China's most modern and heavily protected tank. While
its 125mm main cannon is perfectly deadly against other tanks, its
thick armor and planned remote weapons station makes it a contender for
urban warfare in a pinch.
Thunderstorm
www.81.cn
The
Z-10, like other modern attack helicopters, carries a wide variety of
missiles and rockets like the HJ-10 anti-tank missile, as well as its
23mm chain gun, which can spit out about 600 8oz shells a minute. While
usually a land based attack helicopter, with the right amount of
derring do and ingenuity, it can be based off a wide range of ships,
naval or disguised civilian, for attacks from the sea.
Soaring Dragon
www.top81.cn
The
high altitude, long endurance Soaring Dragon UAV uses a unique box wing
design to reduce drag, thus increasing its fuel efficiency and flight
time endurance. Its long flight time and high flight altitude makes it
well suited to continuously patrol large areas of ocean surface for any
suspicious or hostile activity.
Stonefish
Chinese Internet
The
DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (AShBM) is the breakout star of the
Chinese anti-access arsenal. While the current DF-21D can only reach
the western portions of the Pacific, hypersonic glider vehicles on
future AShBMs descendants would extend their range well into at least
the central Pacific.
VTAS Aerostat
Shepard Media
VTAS
already offers Chinese military aerostats (blimp like balloons tethered
to a ground station). Flying at thousands of meters above the ground,
aerostats can pack a wide range of sensors, such as acoustic gunshot
detectors (great for nabbing insurgents), radars to spot cruise missiles
and ships, and infrared sensors to notice unauthorized persons in
restricted zones.
Robot Hunters
Team Grit
Team
Grit's Cogburn robot crawls into rubble and wreckage to look for
survivors. While this DARPA Challenge entrant has benign purposes,
Directorate forces in the future repurpose similar legged robots to hunt
for insurgents in urban environments.
Quadcopter
Call of Duty Black Ops II
China
is already home to many of the world's leading consumer drone builders,
like DIY, not to mention a booming military robotics sector. As
quadcopter drones get larger, cheaper and smarter, putting guns on them
to hunt insurgents and other "bad actors" will be the next logical step.
SVU-200
Ewatt Fetters
This
Ewatt Technology SVU-200 robot helicopter (designed by the American
Fetters Aerospace) can carry 200 kg of payload while traveling at 209km
per hour in the sky. What's even more amazing is that it was displayed
in Washington DC during a 2013 drone exhibition. In the future, the
Directorate will use militarized one- and four-rotored cousins of the
SVU-200 to monitor, and shoot at, enemies on Pacific islands.
Long shots
CASIC
Chinese
PL-12 and the even longer ranged PL-21 are long-ranged missiles usually
mounted on Chinese aircraft. But with ramjet engines to improve
maneuverability (not to mention some covert modifications), the PL-12D
and PL-21 would make deadly ground- and drone-launched surprises against
even the most modern stealth fighters.
H200 Radar
Chinese Internet
The
H200 is one of China's first phased array radars, but remains just as
deadly. While originally paired with the KS-1 surface to air missile,
its compact design makes it mobile enough to be placed quickly into
urban settings, where with the right soft and hard upgrades, it could
guide even deadlier missiles.
Y-20 Comparision
green-stone13.livejournal.com
This
speculative CGI compares the current Y-20 prototype with the smaller
D-30 engines at the bottom, while the more powerful and efficient WS-20
engined Y-20 is at the top. Directorate forces use the WS-20 to shuttle
around VIPs, as well as to quickly stage out and rotate paratroops,
tanks and other reinforcements on expeditionary and occupation missions.
2015 in Flight
Andreas Rupprecht at China Defense Forum
The
optimized J-20, once it enters into full service by the end of the
decade, will have WS-15 turbofan engines that allow it to supercruise at
supersonic to "get there fastest and furthest". It'll be China's
premiere stealth fighter, tasked with defending the mainland's airspace.
Liaoning Task Force
Andreas Rupprecht, via China Defense Forum
Since
its commissioning in 2012, the Liaoning has been very active at sea,
including naval exercises with other Chinese warships, including the
052C guided missile destroyer "171", seen in the background. Getting
the most experience from its first aircraft carrier is a vital step for
China to build a world class navy with airpower projection and joint
operational capability.
Flying Sharks
Gaoshan at GJX5537@163.com
Gaoshan,
a famous CGI artist of Chinese aircraft, shows two J-15 "Flying Shark"
carrier fighters with full loads of anti-air and anti-ship missiles.
The J-15 in the foreground carries Russian designed Kh-31/YJ-92
anti-radiation missiles for hunting radars, while the closer J-15
carries two deadly YJ-12 supersonic antiship missiles.
J-31
Gaoshan at GJX5537@163.com
Built
as a lower end complement to the famous J-20, the J-31 stealth fighter
can be staged out of airfields, as well as providing a stealthy punch
for Chinese aircraft carriers. Their ease of maintenance and powerful
antiship missiles makes them a good choice for island defense.
YJ-12
Chinese Military Aviation
The
YJ-12 is China's deadliest air launched anti-ship missile. With a
range over 400km miles, the missile travels at speeds above Mach 3.5,
meaning that once it flies from out of the horizon, the target ship has
only less than 10 seconds to respond with last ditch defenses like
Gatling cannons.
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