Chinese military upgrades make US ideas of war even more daunting
Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.
China’s People’s Liberation Army is advancing on multiple fronts, combining institutional modernization, artificial intelligence-enabled command tools, and highly flexible naval weapon systems to raise the operational and strategic costs of any potential conflict the United States might instigate in the Asia-Pacific region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered a new three-stage strategy to modernize national defense and the armed forces. Citing “unprecedented changes” in the global environment, Chinese state media reported that Beijing intends to meet the PLA’s centenary goals by 2027 and achieve “decisive progress” in overall modernization, emphasizing scientific and technological advances to strengthen combat capability. Chinese state media also framed strengthening the military as central to the bigger project of national rejuvenation, providing strategic support for China’s development as a major global power.
By ensuring sustained investment across all services, Beijing is accelerating the shift toward intelligent warfare, in which software and data shape equipment, tactics, and the battlefield itself.
China also introduced an AI-supported planning system for large-scale air operations. According to Chinese media, the PLA Air Force now uses an “intelligent-strike planning system” capable of orchestrating exercises with more than 100 units and hundreds of targets. The system helps commanders and pilots prioritize targets, coordinate successive waves of attack, and assign specific tasks to individual formations. It is designed to manage increasingly large groups of mixed aircraft types through the “system-of-systems” approach that integrates diverse platforms and weapons.
China’s senior military leadership advocates deeper integration of AI and networked information systems within the military. Unlike some Western initiatives that mainly focus on intelligence awareness and analysis, China prioritizes real-time decision-making support, resource allocation, and optimization to enhance accuracy and minimize waste. China’s military leaders believe that during high-intensity conflicts, there must be the capability to quickly replan and coordinate complex air operations that would hinder an enemy’s efforts to gain air superiority or interfere with coordinated strikes.
Footage from a recent CCTV documentary showed the system enabling more than 100 tactical units to execute synchronized strikes with split-second precision after passing live-fire tests, demonstrating its advancement.
Naval capabilities also add an extra layer of flexibility. Chinese Type 052D and Type 055 Destroyers use a vertical launch system, the Haitong-1, which features 850 mm-diameter cells available at three depths—three, six, and nine meters. Out of 59 ships in these classes, at least 45 are either built or under construction. Importantly, this launcher supports both hot- and cold-launched missiles. Hot-launched weapons, like the YJ-18 anti-ship missile, ignite inside the cell and exit through a lighter cover, while cold-launched missiles, such as the HQ-9 and YJ-20, are expelled by gas pressure before their motors ignite. This design enables each vessel to carry a versatile mix of anti-air, anti-ship, land-attack, and anti-submarine missiles without needing hardware changes.
With 64 cells on the Type 052D and 112 on the larger Type 055, the standardized layout simplifies logistics, in addition to speeding up the integration of new munitions and providing commanders with greater mission planning flexibility. These Destroyers are part of carrier strike groups, including those centered on the aircraft carrier Liaoning, and extend China’s operational reach far beyond the Pacific and help develop integrated long-range combat abilities, enhancing both defensive and offensive options in maritime areas and making it harder for an enemy navy to attack Chinese forces or project power near the Chinese coast. The consistent layout across the fleet further reduces logistical problems and allows rapid adaptation to threats, making the challenge for any foreign power seeking to gain sea control all the more difficult.
China’s strategy is based on interconnectedness - modernization efforts establish the institutional and resource foundation, AI systems accelerate and expand coordination, and modular naval launchers enhance the adaptability of sea-based firepower. Together, they create a modern, networked military force capable of delivering complex attacks across multiple domains. For any enemy considering high-intensity operations, such as the US, this makes success a daunting and almost impossible task.
Under such conditions, China would put immense pressure on the US, which is now rationing munitions in its prolonged failing conflict with Iran and drawing harsh lessons from the limitations of its industry, exposed since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022. China’s advancements suggest that future conflicts will emphasize not only the quantity of platforms but also their planning, coordination, and utilization.
These advances shorten the decision-making process, expand strike options, and harden Chinese defenses, forcing any potential adversary to face higher attrition and prolonged engagement rather than a swift, decisive campaign. If the US could not achieve a swift, decisive campaign against a much weaker Iran, it certainly will not have the capabilities to challenge Chinese hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region.