Chinese Officer Confirms "Drone Carrier" Role for World's Largest Amphib

 

A senior officer with China's PLA Navy has confirmed that its newest, largest amphib will be equipped to operate with drones, and said that the service is pivoting to take advantage of a new generation of unmanned combat systems. 

Chi Jianjun, a captain and destroyer commander in the PLA Navy, told state news channel CCTV last weekend that drone systems are being rolled out across China's naval fleet. "It's not just us destroyers. Aircraft carriers, the newly-launched Type 076, the earlier Type 075, and other vessels are and will all be involved," he said in comments first translated by SCMP. "Uncrewed operations are an undeniable trend in modern warfare." 

The Type 076 refers to the Shandong, the largest amphib China has delivered and a rare example of an amphibious assault vessel built with a catapult. The vessel's launch ceremony was held at CSSC Hudong Zhonghua last month, and it is expected to enter service soon. 

Shandong's flight deck measures about 850 feet long by 170 feet wide, making it about an acre larger than the U.S. Navy's America-class amphib. It appears to have dual elevators, port and starboard, for handling a higher volume of aircraft traffic than the previous-generation Type 075. It also has a well deck at the stern for launch and recovery of landing craft.

The vessel was formally launched on December 27, and Chinese state media released detailed footage showing its arrangements. At the time of launch, the vessel was fitted with a work cover over top of its flight deck, widely believed to conceal a single electromagnetic catapult. Given its size - in between a big-deck amphib and a full-size carrier - and the launch capabilities of its catapult, Sichuan has long been identified as a likely aerial combat drone carrier by Western analysts. Satellite imaging has previously picked up what appear to be full-scale mockups of China's GJ-11 unmanned combat aircraft at a storage area near the CSSC Hudong Zhonghua yard on Shanghai's Changxing Island; a Pentagon analysis recently identified the GJ-11 as a potential candidate for PLA carrier operations, and mockups like those seen at Hudong Zhonghua are typically used during testing and crew familiarization for a newbuild carrier. 

Chinese sources indicate that the Sichuan could enter service as early as the end of 2025.