Stealth drone takes off from assault ship

The GJ-21, China's first carrier-borne stealth combat drone, recently conducted its first takeoffs and arrested recoveries aboard the CNS Sichuan, the nation's first Type 076 amphibious assault ship, according to the People's Liberation Army Navy.

The Navy announced the news in a brief statement on Friday afternoon, saying the milestone marks a major breakthrough in the development of China's amphibious assault ships and confirms the Navy's capability to operate fixed-wing stealth unmanned aircraft from large seaborne combat platforms.

As the world's first carrier-borne stealth strike drone, the GJ-21 made its public debut at a massive military parade in September 2025 in Beijing.

Designed and built by Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation's dominant aircraft maker, the drone adopts a tailless flying-wing aerodynamic configuration, with a blended body and wing design that eliminates conventional vertical and horizontal stabilizers.

"This configuration not only creates ample internal space for fuel and weapons, but also drastically reduces its radar signature, enabling all-aspect stealth," said Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine.

The successful drone operations represent a landmark advance in the global evolution of amphibious assault ships. With the test, China becomes the first nation in the world to achieve catapult-assisted takeoff and arrested recovery of a fixed-wing aircraft from an amphibious assault vessel.

Previously, amphibious assault ships operated by the United States and other Western nations could carry fixed-wing aircraft such as the F-35B and AV-8B, but these jets use the short takeoff and vertical landing mode. By contrast, the Sichuan uses electromagnetic catapults for launch and arresting gear for recovery, marking a distinct operational approach.

Bearing hull number 51, the Sichuan is the lead ship of the indigenously designed and built Type 076 class.

It was developed by the Marine Design and Research Institute of China, a Shanghai-based subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp, and constructed at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, another CSSC subsidiary in Shanghai.

The ship was officially unveiled and named in December 2024.

As China's largest amphibious assault ship, the vessel integrates a suite of innovative technologies, including an automatic landing guidance system, a new integrated electric power system, and electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear, according to the Navy.

It is designed to carry a mixed fleet of fixed-wing drones, helicopters and amphibious assault equipment.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn