12.10.2021, 08:07
Zitat:Chinese Testing Experimental Armed Drone Ships at Secret Naval Basehttps://news.usni.org/2021/10/11/chinese...naval-base
In front of scenic cliffs and an ornamental European-style windmill is a secret People’s Liberation Army Navy pier. Here, at a former tourist resort on China’s northern coast, is where the PLAN is developing some of its most secretive, and previously unreported, naval programs, USNI News has learned. The pier near Dalian is where China is testing its large uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), according to satellite photos provided to USNI News by Maxar and an analysis of open-source intelligence. [...]
The JARI, possibly referencing the Jiangsu Automation Research Institute, is an noteworthy USV in its own right. The PLAN first revealed it as a model in 2018, launched a prototype in August 2019 and conducted sea trials in January 2020. The small 50 foot-long craft has been described as a mini-destroyer because of its ambitious weapons and sensor fit. With a remote weapons station (RWS), it is intended to be armed with a small vertical launch system (VLS) for surface to air missiles and two lightweight torpedo tubes. Sensors include phased-array radars, electro-optical devices and sonar.
The new unreported USV has a similar overall form to JARI. It has a similar superstructure and appears to have the same communications radome over the transom. It also has what appears to be openings for torpedo tubes on each side, like the JARI. But the new USV is much larger than the JARI. It is about 70 feet long compared to 50 feet. The superstructure is generally more substantial. The lower hull may have been changed to a simple monohull configuration compared to the JARI’s semi-catamaran.
Schneemann