Photos appear to show China cargo ship equipped with missile launchers

Official sources have not confirmed published images that appear to show a Chinese cargo ship converted to a floating missile launching platform.

The images reportedly found on the Chinese Internet show a medium-size cargo vessel bristling with dozens of vertical missile launch tubes, radar domes and other container-based military hardware.

The photos were published Thursday by The War Zone, a news and analysis site focused on defense.  

The date and location of the images are unknown.

China has been reported to be making efforts to leverage its world-leading shipbuilding capacity to adapt civilian maritime technology for military use. Those efforts include a converted semi-submersible vessel for launching helicopters, and a ferry to support invasion operations. 

The publication also has reported on the United States and Iran developing container-based missile launching systems. 

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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