Df 21d News Today

Advances in technology have made aircraft carriers vulnerable to enemy fire once again. Anti-ship missiles can now reach and challenge the air defense of an aircraft carrier group. This development could change the face of war in a potential conflict between the U.S. and China in the Indo-Pacific.

China's People's Liberation Army Rocket Forces (PLARF) possess the DF-26B intermediate-range ballistic missile, known as the "Guam Killer," capable of reaching U.S. facilities on Guam.

The Third Taiwan Crisis in 1995-1996 exposed China to the strategic dominance of U.S. aircraft carriers, marking a turning point in Chinese military planning.

The United States faces a double-edged sword: it needs to have its forces deployed nearer to China so that it can reliably respond to any provocation by China. Those forces must be large enough to rollback what will be basically a full-court press (militarily speaking) by China. 

Houthi rebels in Yemen have amassed a remarkably diverse array of anti-ship weaponry, incorporating both cruise and ballistic missiles, thanks to China and Iran. Could they hit a U.S. Navy warship? 

China has thousands of conventional missiles that could do a lot of damage to U.S. and allied bases if a war did ever occur for any reason. Also, of course, Beijing has nuclear weapons as well. 

Especially noteworthy about the DF-26B is that it is a dual-capable missile, a type of weapon banned by the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by the United States and the Soviet Union near the end of the Cold War.

In the late summer of 2020, China conducted test launches of both the DF-21B and DF-26B into the South China Sea.

China would need to get lucky just once to sink an aircraft carrier, but it could have 400 to 500 chances thanks to the DF-26B and other missiles. Those aren't great odds for those on a U.S. flattop.

Chinese anti-ship ballistic missiles are a threat to US warships, and their use would escalate any conflict.