China Arms a Container Ship | Picket/Surveillance | First Strike | Cost Effective | Expendable

China's Armed Merchant Cruiser
December 29, 2025

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano — a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner — discusses the outfitting by the Chinese of Zhongda 79 as an armed merchant cruiser and discusses its potential applications.

#chian #navy #cruiser #zhongda79

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00:00 China Converts a Containership into an Armed Warship
03:17 Armed Merchant Cruisers vs Commerce Raiders
05:33 Why Did China Arm Zhong Da 79?
07:44 China's Merchant Marine as a Naval Auxiliary Force
10:56 How does this compare to US Navy's Battleship and Frigate programs?
13:03 Strategic Use and First Strike Capability
16:48 Cost Effectiveness and Expendability - Battleship or Armed Merchant Cruisers?

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