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China building world’s first ‘dedicated’ drone carrier, satellite images suggest: report
- Report on ‘mystery ship’ comes as China also builds giant 076 amphibious assault warship that will serve as both a helicopter and drone carrier
- Specs indicate ‘an aircraft carrier of some sort’, while low flight deck would ‘make sense’ in a drone carrier, Naval News says
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China may have built the world’s first “dedicated” drone carrier, military website Naval News reported, citing satellite imagery and an expert.
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The new aircraft carrier, the building of which has not been publicised by Beijing, could underline China’s aims to advance the military use of drones and their deployment in battle.
Video from the first sea trial earlier this month of the Chinese navy’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, also showed another giant warship under construction – the Type 076 amphibious assault ship believed to serve as both a helicopter and drone carrier.
Naval News reported on Wednesday that satellite imagery from the Jiangsu Dayang shipyard on the Yangtze, far upriver from the major yards of Shanghai, suggested that China had secretly built a new aircraft carrier to specifically host fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
It said the features of the mystery ship, “launched in December 2022 but not reported until now”, were different from regular US or Chinese aircraft carriers.
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This includes a smaller size – around one-third the length and half the width of a US or Chinese supercarrier – and an “anachronistic” straight deck arrangement that would not allow aircraft to take off and land at the same time.
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