China fears the power of the US Navy's "Ghost Fleet"
"Ghost Fleets" are warships that have been removed from combat duty by the US Navy, but can be quickly "reactivated" if requested.
The Chinese Navy has now surpassed the US Navy in the number of warships. Although this figure does not actually confirm that Beijing has surpassed Washington, it cannot be ignored.
The average displacement of US Navy warships is around 10,000 tons, with amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers having a displacement of up to 45,000 or the "super-huge" 100,000 tons.
Meanwhile, the backbone of the Chinese Navy is still the 1,500-ton Type 056 missile frigate or the 4,500-ton Type 054A, and its technical and tactical features are much inferior, so the US Navy is still considered the strongest force in the world.
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| The Ticonderoga-class cruisers are in storage. |
China's Sina website believes that in addition to its superiority in size, when necessary, the US Navy can quickly increase the number of its warships to a dizzying level that no other force can keep up with.
The Chinese newspaper cited the case of the Philadelphia naval base, a maintenance and reserve facility where US Navy warships are sent after they have been withdrawn from the fleet's combat readiness.
However, unlike many other navies, there are countless warships here that have only been in service for more than 10 years, they were put into storage when they were still very new and completely capable of being "reactivated" in a short time.
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| The decommissioned US Navy aircraft carrier is docked at the Philadelphia base. |
Sina cited the example of five early Ticonderoga-class cruisers, a class of warships equipped with the Aegis system, sent here after only being on duty for more than 10 years. Their hulls are still in very good condition and are expected to soon return to the fleet in President Donald Trump's naval refit program.
Besides, there are also many amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers such as the LHA-5 Peleliu or CV-63 Kitty Hawk, these warships are the dream of the Chinese Navy, Russia and many other countries, their power is assessed to be far beyond some ship classes expected to be built in the near future.
The decommissioned US Navy ships at the Philadelphia base that are still in reserve, if they return, would be strong enough to "balance" the navies of several countries in the top 10 in the world combined, strong enough to cope with an entire world war.
Therefore, Sina newspaper had to conclude that it is not possible to say that the Chinese Navy has surpassed the US Navy, as they still have a long way to go.
