Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:22:22-3:24:16

A Defiant-driven battleship arms race

An April Fools question leads into speculation about foreign responses to a future American large-combatant program.

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Question

Did anyone in Washington take the April Fools report about a Chinese battleship seriously?

Short answer

The panel doubts that the joke report influenced policy, then considers a separate hypothetical sequence of foreign responses to Defiant construction.

Notes

The panel doubts that the April Fools report drove a policy decision. The discussion then considers a hypothetical sequence in which Defiant construction prompts a Chinese counterpart. France is suggested as a further participant seeking comparable national status, with Britain potentially following. These are speculative extensions of the question, without evidence that the proposed foreign programs exist.