China says Sichuan launches and recovers heavy UCAV by catapult in world first

The Sichuan, a Type 076 (NATO reporting name: Yulan) amphibious assault ship, is the first of its kind fitted with an electromagnetic catapult and arresting gear, technology China has otherwise reserved for its newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian. The GJ-21 reconnaissance and strike stealth drone launched from the carrier is estimated to weigh over 10 tons, too heavy to take off from a short flight deck without a catapult.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) described the launch and recovery as a world first, but no imagery or footage had been released at the time of writing, unlike the Fujian’s first catapult launches, which China publicized with video in 2025.

China is not alone in developing drone carriers. Turkiye’s Anadolu, an amphibious assault ship, can launch and recover UCAVs but lacks a catapult, limiting its ability to handle heavier drones. Iran converted a commercial container ship into a drone carrier, the Shahid Bagheri, but the United States sank it during Operation Epic Fury. South Korea is planning to develop drone carriers. Other countries such as Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom are exploring drone carrier concepts or integrating unmanned systems into existing carrier operations.

The biggest benefit for the Chinese military from these tests is the data gathered. Chinese military thinkers describe AI and autonomous systems as leading to an era of “intelligentized warfare,” with data as “the new oil.” President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of such systems in his report to the 20th National Congress, calling for accelerated development and strategies to use them in potential conflicts.

Debate continues within the PLA over the drone carrier concept. Cost-effectiveness is a clear benefit: unmanned systems cost far less to procure and operate than manned fighter jets, and training drone operators is cheaper. However, the degree of autonomy remains contested. A PLA Daily article argued that “final decisions rest with human commanders, safeguarding against errors stemming from AI’s black-box nature.”

The United States has taken a different approach. The Pentagon recently announced plans to establish the Autonomous Warfare Command (AutoWARCOM), a four-star command to scale AI and autonomous systems. However, U.S. efforts focus more on integrating unmanned systems into existing platforms rather than building dedicated drone carriers. In 2013, the U.S. Navy’s X-47B became the first unmanned aircraft to launch by catapult from and land on an aircraft carrier, but the Navy redirected its follow-on program toward aerial refueling, resulting in the MQ-25 Stingray. Multiple U.S. companies, General Atomics, Anduril, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, have contracts for conceptual designs of collaborative combat aircraft to enhance manned fighters.

At present, China is likely to keep testing what drone carriers can offer. Below the threshold of conflict, drone carriers could serve as a coercive force for gray-zone activities, such as conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in the South China Sea to pinpoint non-Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels that purportedly “violate” China’s maritime claims. In a Pacific contingency, drone carriers could provide additional mass alongside other naval assets. As a recent CSIS report noted, dispersed swarms can map, mislead and jam adversary defenses, forcing them to burn through expensive interceptors. Drones can also act as decoys, drawing fire away from traditional assets.

However, any potential application assumes operational effectiveness, which remains unproven. The one example that would have revealed a drone carrier’s effectiveness in combat, Iran’s Shahid Bagheri, was quickly sunk when U.S. forces initiated Operation Epic Fury in February. Cost is another question: while UCAVs launched by a drone carrier are cheaper than manned fighters, the carrier itself is not cheaper to build than a traditional amphibious ship. China holds an advantage as the dominant global shipbuilder and a leading drone producer, allowing it to build hulls and drones at lower cost and greater speed, and to absorb the cost and risk of experimenting with platforms like the Sichuan. Whether that experimentation translates into real combat power is yet to be seen.