China Is Building A New, Small Aircraft Carrier At A Civilian Shipyard
Open-source intelligence analysts have spotted an unexpected new building at the state-owned Guangzhou Shipyard, now known as COMEC. The shipyard is known for its civilian shipbuilding work. Still, this ship looks like an amphibious assault ship or helicopter carrier, which has never been designated: a flat design with twin islands and a square bow and stern.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy has ordered five state-of-the-art amphibious ships from Shanghai’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, including four Type 075 flat-bed ships and the future Type 076. The latter will be larger than any amphibious ship ever built and can launch catapults electromagnetically, similar to the U.S. Navy’s Ford-class carriers.
The new ship at the Guangzhou shipyard was different and was assembled much faster. Satellite images of the ship show it is about 650 feet long and 130 feet wide. Its largest island, located amidships, appears to contain an octagonal base for a military radar mast, similar to the turrets on the U.S. Navy’s San Antonio-class amphibious ships.
Defense analyst Tom Shugart, who first spotted the unusual new ship while reviewing satellite imagery, said the design fits with previously announced plans for a “scientific research aircraft carrier,” a civilian ship with nominal amphibious capabilities. A government tender for this class of ships is said to be circulating online in 2022, and the proposed dimensions and details roughly match the new build program at the Guangzhou Shipyard.
Another possibility for the small flush-deck ship is a new drone carrier, which China has quietly pioneered. The Type 076 amphibious carrier is believed to be designed specifically to transport and launch unmanned stealth fighters (unmanned combat aerial vehicles, or UCAVs). Earlier this year, a much smaller fixed-wing unmanned aircraft carrier (possibly the first ship built from the keel for this purpose) was spotted at the Jiangsu Dayang Shipyard.
