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China has secretly built what could be the world’s first drone aircraft carrier, an analyst said.
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The report noted the size of the vessel to guess its main mission.
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Having a drone carrier would allow China to use different types of drones to attack, an analyst told BI.
China’s navy secretly built what could be the world’s first dedicated aircraft carrier ship, according to Naval News, a squat ship that looks like a mini-aircraft carrier.
The rover used satellite imagery dated May 6, along with information from J. Michael Dahm, senior resident scholar of aerospace and China studies at the Mitchell Institute.
“We are confident that this ship is the world’s first dedicated fixed-wing aircraft carrier,” he said. Other experts, however, warned that only time will tell its purpose.
The report cited the length of the ship’s flight deck, which it said is about a third the length and half the width of a Chinese or US Navy aircraft carrier. It is also about half the length of China’s amphibious assault ships that launch manned helicopters, suggesting the new ship’s flight deck was designed for fewer helicopters or smaller aircraft such as drones.
The cockpits of warships have been bases for drones such as the US MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter and the Scan Eagle lightweight drone. What appears new is that the entire function of the Chinese ship may be to launch and land drones, although its purpose will only be confirmed by future observations of its tests and operations.
The report estimated that the flight deck was wide enough to allow aircraft or drones with a wingspan of about 65 feet, such as the Chinese equivalent of the Reaper drone, to operate from it.
Citing satellite imagery, the report also said the flight deck appears to be “very” low, suggesting there is no hangar below for storage and maintenance of aircraft such as those on assault ships and aircraft carriers. As seen, the ship appears to be the length of a Chinese frigate.
Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy in East Asia in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, supported the assessment.
He told BI that the platform’s flat top and compact deck, along with its supposedly catamaran-like hull, suggest it will be used for drones; the US too tried with the launch of drones from catamaran-style ferries, but the ship’s cockpit is much smaller.
Patalano also said it would make sense for the Chinese navy to keep its tests largely hidden from international scrutiny.
But Lyle Goldstein, Director of Asia Engagement at the D.C.-based think tank Defense Priorities, said he would be hesitant to call it a drone carrier based on just one satellite image.
Strategically, though, he said it would make a lot of sense.
Drones have a relatively small range, limiting their deployment far from shore, Goldstein told BI, so having an aircraft carrier would give the Chinese navy a “robust” network and allow for drone strikes of different types.
“I spend a lot of time looking at Taiwan scenarios and I think China would actually be looking to deploy large numbers of these explosive drones as their main weapon,” he said.
Possible drone mothership discovered just weeks after launch of China’s third aircraft carrier sea trials.
Read the original article at Business Insider
