New satellite imagery shows a large vessel with a boxy superstructure under construction at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard on Changxing Island in Shanghai, which an independent naval analyst assesses is a mothership to support China’s growing fleets of large submersible drones, The War Zone reported Sept. 24.
The ship, under construction since at least April, is approximately 669 feet (204 meters) long and around 98 feet (30 meters) at its widest, according to satellite imagery obtained by The War Zone from Vantor, taken Sept. 10. The vessel has since received an overall coat of gray paint, pointing to future service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
The Sept. 10 image confirms the design includes a well deck, sized around a roughly 164-foot (50-meter) long rectangular platform visible in the shot. The platform has an arch-shaped structure at one end and two teardrop-shaped ones at the other, as well as six pillars, three on each side, in between. The teardrop-shaped structures point to the platform being at least a semi-submersible, according to The War Zone.
The image also clearly shows six large struts extending from the top of the stern end of the superstructure, each paired with a shorter strut, for a total of 12. Earlier this month, independent naval analyst H.I. Sutton posited these struts could be used to lower a platform or similar structure below the hull of the ship, or as part of a larger system capable of moving payloads between decks internally. Sutton drew attention to a previously shown rendering of a proposed Chinese scientific research vessel with a roughly similar strut-based system at the stern for deploying submersibles and other large payloads.
Overall, signs point to the inside of the superstructure being largely hangars and other open work spaces, allowing for multiple large UUVs to be carried and supported, with individual UUVs launched and recovered one at a time via the cradle, The War Zone reported.
The vessel’s basic length and width are very roughly comparable to China’s Type 071 amphibious warfare ship, though it appears to be much taller overall, according to the report.
Other features now taking shape include a large opening on the starboard side, which could be for launching and/or recovering lifeboats or other watercraft, or moving payloads to and from the pier while docked, as well as a multi-pronged mast on top of the bridge. There is no attached helipad present now, but one could well be added later on somewhere on top of the superstructure, The War Zone reported.
A large specialized ship built for the purpose of launching and recovering very large underwater vehicles in an operational capacity is unique, according to the report, which noted the idea of deploying and retrieving large UUVs via well decks using cradle-like systems is being explored by other navies globally, including in the United States.
Sources: USNI News · Defence Blog