Chinese USV Development Thread

[Miyayaya]

Declassified now - JARI-USV-A "Killer Whale"
58 meters long, 23 meters wide, has a displacement of 500 tons, and a cruising range of over 4,000 nautical miles.

This airshow just keeps on giving. Holy.

It also is UVLS by @太湖军I名.

More info by them, translated: It is equipped with a universal vertical launch system, carrying payloads such as rockets, anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and a remote-controlled weapons station. It can operate in coordination with drones, achieving a high level of firepower integration on a small platform. It can be independently deployed for long-term missions or work alongside other forces in critical sea areas, performing tasks such as surveillance patrols, anti-ship strikes, anti-submarine warfare, self-defense against aerial threats, battlefield environmental assessment, and search-and-rescue missions.

 

[Andy1974]

4 VLS cells? Those better be quad-packable.

Speaking of which, that USV has arrived at Zhuhai and will be open for exhibition for the 1st time. Info by @太湖军I名 on Weibo.

That space looks configurable, the graphic from Saturday shows 16, which is half a frigate.
What do you think the platform in front of the 4 VLS is for?

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

Declassified now - JARI-USV-A "Killer Whale"
58 meters long, 23 meters wide, has a displacement of 500 tons, and a cruising range of over 4,000 nautical miles.
View attachment 138795View attachment 138796View attachment 138797View attachment 138798

First close up video, likely taken around Zhuhai.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1855027530098700388

 

[Maikeru]

Has has PLAN committed to this JARI, or don't we know yet?

 

[Blitzo]

Has has PLAN committed to this JARI, or don't we know yet?

There is no indication to believe they have committed to this.

The default assumption should be that a project is not being pursued by the PLAN, unless rumours indicate otherwise (especially if rumours in the leadup to the emergence of a project stated clearly it would be for the PLAN to begin with).



Also, a 500t USV is still relatively small. It may be a novelty and a good testbed for more systems and for the hullform, but I imagine if the PLAN seriously wanted to pursue a proper USV at scale, they'd be after something in the 2000t category at minimum.

 

[tphuang]

so when it comes to unmanned system. You definitely want to start small and improve the autonomous stuff over time. a 500t USV without living quarters and using Trimaran platform probably has as much space for fire power and fuel as much larger regular vessels. It's a good size for a first trial type of USV.

I'd be interested to see what else they have on this USV. The superstructure of this USV looks pretty sizable for something without living space. What are they using it for? As in, what other unmanned platforms like UUV storage area maybe in there?

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

More photos of the JARI-USV-A. Posted by @WenJian0922 on Twitter.

 

[by78]

A few more images of the unmanned trimaran.

 

[lcloo]

The masking is pointless, there is nothing confidencial on the dockyard. Location is at the Northen end of Longxue island, right where the dry dock is located.

 

[Miyayaya]

The masking is pointless, there is nothing confidencial on the dockyard. Location is at the Northen end of Longxue island, right where the dry dock is located.

View attachment 138860

Not necessarily true. From Chinese military podcasts I have heard complaints specifically about photo backgrounds of docks, airports, etc.