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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

Does China’s new drone mother ship have potential as a military vessel?

  • Ship has capacity to carry dozens of airborne, surface and underwater drones, with domestic media spelling out benefits for environmental and ocean floor studies
  • Autonomous vessel Zhu Hai Yun had the same risk of electronic jamming as all other unmanned vessels, says US think tank security analyst

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The unmanned ship can be controlled remotely and can be used for marine research and observation. Photo: Handout
Kristin Huang
With the world’s first drone mother ship, the Chinese military is expected to gather more intelligence in the disputed South China Sea, despite a security analyst assessment finding the ship potentially vulnerable to enemy interference or a technological failure.

Last week, China launched the world’s first drone carrier, named Zhu Hai Yun, a vessel that can be controlled remotely to navigate autonomously in open water. It is expected to be delivered by the end of the year after completing sea trials.

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China’s world-first drone-carrier capable of operating on its own

China’s world-first drone-carrier capable of operating on its own

The state-run Science and Technology Daily said the ship could be an efficient tool in marine disaster prevention and mitigation, environmental monitoring and offshore wind farm maintenance as well as delivering accurate marine information.

The ship is 88.5 metres long, 14 metres wide and 6.1 metres deep (290 feet long, 46 feet wide and 20 feet deep), with a designed displacement of 2,000 tonnes. It can sail at a speed of 13 knots, with a top speed of 18 knots, similar to the speed of a container ship.

Its wide deck can carry dozens of unmanned vehicles, including drones, unmanned ships and submersibles, making it a convenient platform from which to launch unmanned military devices.
China is the world’s leading drone manufacturer and it has a wide range of systems in series production and in use across its army, navy, air force and rocket force – the military’s strategic and tactical missiles unit. The best-known Chinese military drones are the Wing Loong and CASC Rainbow families, both of which include multipurpose attack drones.

The country has also developed underwater gliders that can take sonar soundings of the bottom of the ocean to get an accurate depth map of the sea floor. It can use sensors to understand thermal conditions within the water and acoustic conditions to give PLA Navy submarines the best chance for traversing the ocean undetected.

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