China carries out first successful test of underwater explosives that could destroy US ports after launching 'satellite-crushing' weapon and hypersonic missile

China has successfully tested underwater explosives to destroy a port, which state media says will be used to destroy American logistics networks in the even of a real war

• China has carried out its first test of underwater explosives to destroy a port
• Test was used to gather data that can be used for demolitions during a real war
• Underwater bombs could be used to target US ports in conflict, state media said
• Comes after China launched satellite that could crush other spacecraft, and tested what analysts believe to be two hypersonic orbital nukes

China has carried out its first-ever demolition of a port using underwater explosives, a tactic that state media said could be used against the US in the event of a war.

Beijing's military carried out the test on Saturday, using underwater charges to destroy a dummy wharf at an undisclosed location somewhere in China.

The technology is designed to cut off enemy supply lines in the event of a conflict, state-owned Global Times newspaper said, adding that sneak attacks using underwater charges will make large vessels like US aircraft carriers vulnerable.

It is just the latest in a string of Chinese military tests - including the launch of a satellite last week that the US warns could attack other spacecraft, and two tests of an orbital weapon that analysts think is a hypersonic nuke.

China carries out first successful test of underwater explosives

 

Reporting on the latest test, Global Times said underwater charges were used to 'fully demolish' a wharf with a 'powerful explosion'.

Sensors installed on the wharf were used to gather data that will be used to support attacks on 'hostile ports in a real war,' the Times said.

It added that underwater demolitions are a response to changing US tactics in the Pacific, claiming that Washington is dividing its forces between smaller locations instead of concentrating them in one place to mitigate the damage from attacks.

This tactic increases the strain on logistics operations required to keep large vessels such as aircraft carriers afloat, the Times said, making attacks on infrastructure such as ports and wharfs more important.

'With ports destroyed, enemy logistics support will fail and a dispersed fighting force... will also fail,' an unnamed military expert told the paper.

The test comes just a day after the Times reported on the launch of a new satellite - Shijian 21 - which the paper said is designed to test technology to clear space debris.

But Washington warns the same technology - thought to take the form of a robotic arm - can be used to 'grapple' other satellites and potentially disable them.

Beijing has launched one 'debris-clearing' satellite before - Shijian 17 - which went into space back in 2016.

Officially designated a communication satellite that is merely 'observing' space debris, the US says it is actually equipped with...

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