China has announced plans to construct an enormous flying aircraft carrier as part of an ambitious aerial and space defence programme dubbed Nantianmen, or ‘Heavenly Gate’.

The concept firmly belongs in the world of science fiction, centred around the Luanniao, a colossal airborne vessel measuring 242 metres in length, with a 684m wingspan, and tipping the scales at approximately 120,000 tons. Yet, it may prove to be considerably more fiction than science.

In theory, the Luanniao would dwarf any warship and outweigh any supertanker. Beijing claims unmanned space fighters, designated Xuannu, could launch from its deck, whilst the carrier’s hypersonic missiles could engage targets both in the atmosphere and orbital space.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV recently offered the world a preview of what the nation’s military scientists are developing, broadcasting photorealistic imagery of the Luanniao suspended above Earth, deploying space jets, and launching missiles, reports the Daily Star.

Nevertheless, the proposal sits far beyond current technological capabilities. Experts suggest the display appears less like a concrete plan and more like a strategic statement: a ‘don’t test us’ warning directed firmly at adversaries.

Analysts suggest China is borrowing from America’s Cold War strategy, when the threat of the ‘Star Wars’ initiative in the 1980s caused considerable Soviet anxiety. President Reagan’s ambitious scheme, which pledged to intercept nuclear missiles from space, was never practically viable, yet it rattled the USSR to such an extent that some believe it contributed to its collapse.

Technical experts highlight that current rocket technology falls woefully short of launching anything approaching this magnitude. Assembling such a system in orbit would present a monumental challenge across logistics, finances and engineering – encompassing everything from power generation and propulsion to thermal management and debris protection.

Nevertheless, there’s little question that China’s wider ambitions are genuine: spanning anti-satellite weapons to laser technology and hypersonic systems, Beijing is channelling substantial resources into space-related military capabilities.

Among its latest successful trials was a novel ‘phantom space strike’ system capable of deceiving missile defence networks by broadcasting false target signatures from orbit during a nuclear strike.

The technology operates by deploying three spacecraft that generate radio jamming, fooling adversary forces into directing interception hardware towards incorrect locations.

Whilst China possesses considerably fewer nuclear warheads than America and Russia, its administration has made substantial investments in developing alternative approaches, including techniques for compromising missile defence infrastructure.