China eyes huge naval guns to crush small drones as Trump brings back big battleships
Chinese naval researchers are exploring the use of high-calibre guns with fragmentation shells to counter drone swarms. This strategy aims to provide a cost-effective defense against mass drone attacks, contrasting with the US Navy's focus on high-tech weaponry for its new battleship class.
Why it matters
It highlights a shift in naval warfare tactics, prioritizing cost-efficient defensive measures against the growing threat of inexpensive, mass-produced drone swarms.
Chinese naval researchers are studying whether high-calibre naval guns could offer warships a low-cost way to counter drone swarms, potentially reviving the role of a weapon long associated with the battleship era.According to the South China Morning Post, a team led by Wang Lei of the People’s Liberation Army Dalian Naval Academy has proposed using prefabricated-fragmentation shells that explode near a drone swarm, releasing a cloud of high-speed fragments.The concept would not require the shell to strike individual drones directly. Instead, it would create a wider lethal zone around the swarm, increasing the chances of hitting multiple targets with a single round.The research comes as US President Donald Trump’s proposed Trump-class battleship puts heavily armed surface warships back in the spotlight.
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