China has put another shipborne uncrewed helicopter through its paces at sea, but the ship used for the tests has drawn more attention than the new aircraft.
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A report on state broadcaster CCTV last week showed the drone helicopter – an AR-500CJ developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China – taking off, hovering over and landing on a ship’s flight deck at sea. An operator was shown controlling the aircraft in front of a short structure on the deck.
But the ship was not identified or clearly visible in the footage, prompting speculation over which vessel it might have been.
According to official tabloid Global Times the ship was the “civilian aircraft carrier” CSSC Exploration 01 built in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.
However, US military website The War Zone claimed it was more likely to be the “mysterious drone carrier” seen in satellite images at a shipyard in Jiangsu province last year.
The vessel identified by Global Times is a 200-metre-long (656ft) ship built by Comec, a commercial unit of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.