China has unveiled a concept for a flying aircraft carrier that would hover at the edge of space. The idea suggests it could launch unmanned jets and hypersonic missiles. Many are calling it propaganda. Even if the flying aircraft carrier comes to life, it will take Beijing at least three decades to build it.
Aircraft carriers are built to sail on the seas. But China has caught the world’s eye yet again with a concept that’s out of this world, quite literally. Beijing has come out with the concept of a massive space-based aircraft carrier, called the Luanniao, which would hover at the edge of space. You heard that right. An aircraft carrier, but in space.
As menacing as it sounds, the behemoth of a carrier is just a concept as of now, and Chinese state media said it could be a reality only after at least three decades.
This triangular warship, shown in a recent video on Chinese state media, CCTV, looks like something straight out of a Star Wars movie. It would be designed to fly at the edge of space, deploying unmanned fighter jets and launching missiles at targets below. If the concept turns into a reality, it could give China an edge in future conflicts.
If it becomes a reality, it could give China an edge in future wars and make the idea of a space force more relevant.
The Luanniao is part of China’s Nantianmen Project, which means “South Heavenly Gate”. This is a big plan to build an all-in-one system for defence in air and space.
The project started getting attention in 2017 when the Aviation Industry Corporation of China first shared ideas about it. Since then, models of the carrier and its jets have appeared at air shows, like the one in Zhuhai in 2018.
The latest buzz came from a concept video aired by China Central Television (CCTV) in late January 2026. The video shows the Luanniao speeding through near-space, firing hypersonic missiles and sending out jets to attack enemies.
WHAT IS LUANNIAO, FLYING AIRCRAFT CARRIER CHINA IS PLANNING?
Let’s look at the specifications of the behemoth concept. The Luanniao, if it comes to life, would be huge — 242 metres long and 684 metres wide, like a giant grey triangle. That’s much bigger and heavier than any aircraft carrier in use today, even bigger than supertankers on the sea.
To give you a perspective, it’s twice as long, and three times wider than the biggest aircraft carrier in the world — the USS Gerald R Ford.
Its wingspan would be over 2,000 feet, and it would weigh up to 120,000 tonnes.
To make a thing that heavy take-off would need technology that is yet to be invented.
The closest real-world counterpart to China’s Luanniao concept is the Soviet-era “Caspian Sea Monster”, or the KM Ekranoplan, a massive ground-effect vehicle that skimmed just above the water surface at high speed while carrying heavy payloads. The KM Ekranoplan operated only metres above the sea, never left the atmosphere, and was abandoned after the Cold War due to high costs and safety concerns.
However, the current Chinese concept is much more aspirational, as opposed to the over 500-tonne Soviet giant.
The Chinese “Star Wars spaceship”, as many have referred to it, would be designed to carry as many as 88 unmanned fighter jets called Xuan Nu, which means “Mysterious Woman”.
These jets would be of stealth nature, and would fire hypersonic missiles to any target anywhere in the world.
Chinese state media claims the Luanniao could be ready in 20 to 30 years, maybe by 2045 or 2055.
IS CHINA’S SPACE AIRCRAFT CARRIER JUST PROPAGANDA?
The Nantianmen Project includes other tech too, like the Baidi fighter jet with changeable wings for better flying, and weapons using lasers or microwaves.
There are even ideas for particle beam guns, though these are still in early stages. The whole system would use AI for decisions. China says it follows a step-by-step path: make one thing, develop the next, research more, and explore new ideas.
But not everyone is convinced this will happen soon, or at all.
Experts have called it science fiction. Launching something so huge and heavy into space would need massive breakthroughs in propulsion, energy sources, and materials. The concept, it seems, defies the laws of physics, at least with the technology available right now.
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military commentator, has said the concepts fit future air and space battles well.
But reactions varied on social media.
A defence-focussed account, End Time Headlines, said, “China has unveiled plans for a space carrier that can deploy unmanned fighter jets capable of firing missiles from the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere.”
But some saw it as propaganda to boost Chinese national pride and show strength to rivals like the US, especially with ongoing tensions over Taiwan and sea routes in the South China Sea.
Journalist and author, Charles R Smith, said, A news article on China showing off a ‘space aircraft carrier’ filled with CGI images? Meanwhile.. in the real world… high ranking Generals in the Chinese Army are become (sic) an endangered species due to over-purging. This guy has Pulitzer… or at least a Hugo in his future.”
For now, though, it’s just videos, models, and dreams, and it remains to be seen if China can turn this sci-fi vision into reality.
