It wasn't in secret ffs. We've even regularly seen research papers, it wasn't more secret than your average PLAN project. Yet, this H I Sutton guy always finds a way to annoyingly make a "BREAKING NEWS" out of everything, as if they designed and built this thing within a day...
And he's pumping it up as an "aircraft carrier" when this is at most a test and demonstration ship...
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How likely is it that it is not a drone-carrier per se and as such a test-vessel but a ship built solely to test UAVs off a ship, which itself is new to the PLAN too? IMO it is just a ship to test UAVs under stable conditions as a next step from land-based testing.
on Twitter did some measuring on the flat-deck test platform.
For reference, the WL-1 has a wingspan of 14 m, WL-2 of 20 m, and GJ-11 of 14.4 m. All these U(C)AVs look to be too big for this flat-deck test platform.
Now that we know the estimated dimensions of this flat-deck test platform, I think we can say that this isn't the same one from the September 2022's tender offer (i.e. not H2528).
As a matter of fact, the H2528 would have twice the length, a wider runway width, and have two island superstructures (of which the test platform has only one island superstructure), let alone the presence of the hangar and well decks (of which this test platform appears to lack).
For reference, the WL-1 has a wingspan of 14 m, WL-2 of 20 m, and GJ-11 of 14.4 m. All these U(C)AVs look to be too big for this flat-deck test platform.
Now that we know the estimated dimensions of this flat-deck test platform, I think we can say that this isn't the same one from the September 2022's tender offer (i.e. not H2528).
As a matter of fact, the H2528 would have twice the length, a wider runway width, and have two island superstructures (of which the test platform has only one island superstructure), let alone the presence of the hangar and well decks (of which this test platform appears to lack).
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Interesting platform.
Although it doesn't seem long enough to accomodate full sized UAVs. So more likely some small or VTOL UAVs would be carried on board. So I surmise the mission set is most likely CIS for ground, or ASW.
Yeah they are clearly two fully separate designs, even according to that Hurin guys posted Twitter graphic and the image of this new hull by itself (size, multi vs single hull, superstructure etc). Even before Foolsball measured it, the other two drone platforms gave us a rough sense of its (modest) proportions. Anyway.