Foreign media hype of alleged Chinese laser-armed warship undue: expert

Some foreign media hyped that a Chinese warship that recently sailed into the Pacific Ocean was suspected of being armed with a laser weapon. A Chinese expert said on Thursday that laser is a type of defensive weapon being developed by multiple countries, and there is no need to make an undue fuss over this potential development.

Citing the Japanese Defense Ministry, US media outlet Newsweek claimed on Wednesday that a Chinese flotilla was spotted sailing toward the wider Western Pacific Ocean this week, which included a suspected laser-armed warship.

According to a press release by Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff on Wednesday, seven warships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, including two Type 052D destroyers, two Type 054A frigates, one Type 075 amphibious assault ship, one Type 071 amphibious transport dock and one Type 903 replenishment ship, transited the Miyako Strait southeastward from Monday to Tuesday. 

Photos of the Chinese warships were attached to the Japanese press release. Citing a previous report by specialist outlet Naval News, Newsweek claimed that the Type 071 amphibious warship in the Chinese flotilla is "armed with a laser-based directed energy weapon," which is placed in a protective and extendable cupola between the ship's main gun and the command bridge. 

While China has publicly displayed land-based laser weapons, such as the LW-30 laser defense system displayed at Airshow China 2022, the country has not yet made any official announcement of ship-borne laser weapons.

In late 2024, the US Navy tested the HELIOS laser weapon system with the USS Preble destroyer against a threat-representative cruise missile, Naval News reported on February 4.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that shipborne laser weapons represent a development trend for several countries, as they attack at the speed of light, require no trajectory predictions, and are supposed to be more cost-effective than traditional naval guns and missiles.

Shipborne laser weapons are mainly designed for close-in defense purposes against targets such as drones, loitering munitions and cruise missiles, rather than being an offensive weapon, because contemporary warships may have difficulties providing enough electricity to cause enough damage for offensive purposes, especially considering energy losses in the atmosphere at sea level, Fu said.

Regardless of whether claims of the Chinese warship carrying an alleged laser weapon are true or not, there is no need for foreign media to be paranoid or make an undue fuss, Fu said, noting that China has been making in naval developments such as electromagnetic catapult technologies, and the country has also displayed land-based laser systems, so any new development should not be surprising.