China is secretly building the world’s first dedicated drone carrier, according to media reports.
Satellite images have revealed a drone carrier at the Jiangsu Shipyard on the Yangtze River, according to the military website Naval News. It is the fourth Chinese carrier in total, and the third named Fujian is currently being tested at sea. Fujian is China’s largest and most capable aircraft carrier, the Type-003 vessel, but the new drone carrier has a different exterior and is being built to meet specific requirements.
This aircraft carrier is not larger than Fujian, but smaller than standard aircraft carriers. Naval News states that the size of the flight deck is a third the length and half the width of the United States (U.S.) and Chinese supercarriers. The most noticeable feature of the new carrier, which indicates that it is intended for drones, is the lack of hangar space, which would limit the number of typical aircraft on board. However, this disadvantage is small for a ship that will carry and control drones.
The flat deck of a drone carrier could make it difficult to simultaneously land and take off from a ship, however, this is not much of a challenge for several drones that use vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) technology.
The carrier has a designated runway on the port side and an “island superstructure” on the right, and the report states that its hull is a “wide-form catamaran.” Further analysis reveals that the flight deck is very low, which makes it difficult to place a hangar under it, and this fact further strengthens the theory that it is a drone carrier.
However, the report states that the carrier’s design is not intended for extended operations. The flight deck allows for aircraft or drone operations with a wingspan of around 20 meters, meaning several large Chinese reconnaissance and attack drones can take off and land on the deck without any problems.
The aforementioned shipyard has previously built many ships for the Chinese Navy, including high-tech barges and two large drone ships.
The Chinese shipyard also has experience simulating Western navies for weapons testing programs.
The drone carrier is the first of its kind and is not a simulation. It is possible that it is being built for the testing and development of unmanned aerial vehicle operations at sea.
It remains to be seen whether the drone carrier is truly part of the Chinese military’s plan or is simply intended for research and development purposes. Regardless of what it is, the ship has definitely attracted the attention of Western countries, and its development will be closely monitored in the future, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
