New 'Unmanned Drone Mothership' Could Benefit Chinese Navy, Media Says

While the vessel was presented by China as an instrument for marine research, a senior fellow at the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies argued that, as Chinese activities in the South China Sea allegedly show, “scientific ventures can be a precursor or otherwise support military objectives".

"Zhu Hai Yun", an autonomous drone carrier that was recently launched by China State Shipbuilding Corporation subsidiary Huangpu Wenchong, may potentially be used for purposes different from those declared by its creators, Business Insider suggests.

The vessel in question, which may be the world's first "unmanned vehicle carrier", is a research ship capable of transporting and deploying multiple air, sea, and underwater drones.

According to the media outlet, while China officially touted the vessel as an instrument for marine research, some experts argue that it can also potentially be used for surveillance.

"From a purely science standpoint, which is the angle China is promoting, we could see Chinese drones (both surface and subsurface, and launched from the Zhu Hai Yun) contributing to disaster mitigation, environmental monitoring, etc.", Matthew Funaiole, senior fellow at the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the media outlet.

He pointed out, however, that "technology, especially information collection systems, often have dual use applications", and that data collected by autonomous systems could help China with "surveillance, domain awareness", improve Beijing’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities, and aid the navigation of Chinese submarines.

"When dealing with China, we rarely have perfect insight into their intentions, but as we have seen with its activities in the South China Sea, scientific ventures can be a precursor or otherwise support military objectives", he remarked.

Funaiole also said that China had "invested considerable resources into various unmanned platforms" to bolster its navy, the media outlet notes.

"This will be part of the future of warfare", he added.

"Zhu Hai Yun" is owned by Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, and its developers say that the ship is expected to assist Chinese oceanographers in expanding their research via the use of unmanned instruments.