La Chine présente un colossale porte-avions spatial tout droit sorti de Star Wars
China has, once again, pushed the boundaries between engineering and science fiction. Indeed, the country recently unveiled "Luanniao," a colossal "space aircraft carrier," a key element of the Nantianmen (Southern Heavenly Gate) project launched in 2017.
This craft should be capable of projecting itself to the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere, much like a spaceship straight out of Star Wars. Luanniao, in fact, has the triangular shape of the Star Destroyers from the science fiction saga. It is gray in color and has a futuristic appearance.
If this project comes to fruition, it will surpass all existing aircraft in terms of size.
It would measure 242 meters long and have a wingspan of approximately 684 meters and a maximum takeoff weight estimated at 120,000 tons.
If this project comes to fruition, it will surpass all existing aircraft in size and even rival the largest warships in mass. The stated mission of this space-based aircraft carrier would be to operate in "near space," that is, at the upper limit of Earth's atmosphere.
From there it will be able to fire hypersonic missiles beyond the range of most conventional defense systems and deploy Xuan Nu unmanned fighters designed as stealth drones with high maneuverability and a large payload capacity.
Will Luanniao be operational within 20 to 30 years?
In China, some believe Luanniao could be operational within 20 to 30 years. Westerners are not so optimistic about the project.
Defense expert Peter Layton, for example, pointed out that there is currently no operational technology capable of maintaining a platform of this size at the edge of the atmosphere for an extended period. Furthermore, a 120,000-ton vehicle would require entirely new propulsion systems and enormous quantities of fuel or energy sources that are not yet available.
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