China's dense coastal population and regional seas create a need for strategic and defensive depth. That logic resembles Soviet bastion defence, where sea control helped keep hostile carriers away and protected ballistic-missile submarines. The Soviet Kiev and Kuznetsov concepts formed part of that defensive system and did not replicate American strike carriers. A STOBAR carrier can be well suited to rapid launches of lighter air-defence loads when land-based aircraft provide other support.
Chapter · 1:08:32-1:11:18
Chinese carriers and defensive depth at sea
China's carrier rationale emphasizes defensive depth over nearby seas and protection for task groups, with a different mission from another navy's strike-centric model.