Abstract
People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)’s demonstration of containerised modular weapons on Motor Vessel (MV) Zhong Da 79 in Dec 2025 indicates a deviation from established precedent in scale, institutional backing and declared industrial intent. This brief examines the technical basis of the containerised weapons programme of PLAN, situates it within the history of disguised and containerised weapons, and assesses its implications for a region through which an estimated 90,000 to 100,000 vessels transit annually. It argues that the effect will be the erosion of a distinct line between a merchant vessel and a combatant. The brief evaluates India’s current response architecture and proposes specific recommendations.
Key Words
Containerised Weapons, Q-Ship, Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), IFC-Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD), Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC), Arsenal Ship, Atmanirbhar Bharat
