China currently operates the largest navy in the world, and part of this capability consists of technology developed during the Soviet era. Destroyers, submarines and even the first Chinese aircraft carrier have been modernized based on Russian platforms, which has helped transform China into an expanding maritime power capable of challenging US influence in the Indo-Pacific region, Newsweek reports.
PHOTO EPA-EFE
Although the old Russian platforms remain an important component of the Chinese fleet, as China develops its own technologies, they could be decommissioned in the next 10 to 20 years, Alex Luck, an Australian analyst specializing in the People's Liberation Army Navy, told Newsweek.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a borderless partnership between Russia and China several years ago, and since then the countries have offered each other military and diplomatic support on sensitive issues such as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and tensions in the Taiwan Strait, coalescing against US-led alliances in Europe and Asia.
As part of its stated goal of creating a “world-class” military to rival and even surpass the US, China has embarked on an extensive naval modernization program alongside ambitious projects to design and manufacture ships domestically. Currently, China's fleet consists of 370 ships and submarines, including three aircraft carriers and eight destroyers of over 10,000 tons and 60 submarines.
Among the equipment purchased from Russia are four Sovremenni-class destroyers, ten Kilo-class submarines, as well as China's first aircraft carrier, CNS Liaoning, the former Soviet Variag ship.
The expert recalls that China acquired this equipment in a context of deteriorating relations with the West – the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and the Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996, when the US sent two naval attack groups led by aircraft carriers.
“The Chinese Navy needed both platforms capable of credibly deterring the US and asserting its own political aspirations in the region, as well as a broader technology base for future developments,” Luck explained to Newsweek.
An emblematic example of how China has integrated technology of Russian origin with its own is the Type 039A diesel-electric submarine: based on a Russian hull design, it can be considered a hybrid between Chinese and Russian engineering.
A defining moment for China's naval capability was the acquisition of the unfinished hull of the future aircraft carrier Liaoning, a training and learning platform through which the Chinese military gained fundamental expertise in aircraft carrier design, construction and operation.
More than 10 years after the Liaoning aircraft carrier entered service in 2012, the Pentagon found in its 2025 assessment that China plans to reach nine aircraft carriers by 2035, with plans to build six additional ships, which would outnumber US ships in the Pacific.
“China's historic military buildup makes US territory increasingly vulnerable. China maintains a large and growing arsenal of nuclear, maritime, long-range conventional strike, cyber, and space capabilities capable of directly threatening American security.”the Pentagon report states.
An expanding navy
As China builds more advanced, locally designed military vessels, Russian platforms are expected to be phased out of service. China has now overtaken Russia in areas such as naval electronics, sensors and control systems, benefiting from a stronger semiconductor industrial base.
The most illustrative example of the transition from Russian equipment and technology to its own expertise is China's aircraft carrier program. As for the newest aircraft carriers, the Chinese Navy has replaced the Liaoning's classic launchers with electromagnetic catapults capable of launching heavier aircraft, a major feature of the CNS Fujian.
In parallel, a new generation of Chinese aircraft such as the J-35 fighter jet has entered service and is expected to eventually succeed the J-15, a Chinese equivalent of the Soviet-made Su-33 Flanker, Luck explained.
Meanwhile, to maintain the operational viability of Russian-sourced equipment in its rapidly expanding fleet, the Chinese Navy has upgraded its four Sovremenni-class destroyers.
Thus, they were equipped with modern Chinese missiles, improved sensors and better command and control systems “The full modernization of these older ships indicates China's desire not to downsize its larger and more capable warships.”Luck wrote in an analysis of the capabilities of the Chinese Navy.
