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| Specifications and Sophistication of 'Zhu Hai Yun', China's First Drone Carrier |
Beijing - China has launched the first artificial intelligence (AI) aircraft carrier capable of launching military strikes on its own. A myriad of sophisticated equipment was applied to the aircraft carrier to immobilize the opponent's weapons.
According to Beijing, the carrier is designed for marine research but there are already concerns that it could be used to launch attacks against the United States Navy and other adversaries.
The remote-controlled carrier named Zhu Hai Yun has the capacity to carry around 50 aerial, ground and submarine drones. The launch ceremony was held at the shipyard in Guangzhou. Most of the ship's stern consists of an open deck where flying drones can land and be stored alongside other types of drones.
There is also a drone launch and recovery site. The 88.4-meter-long carrier can reach a maximum speed of 32.2 kilometers per hour and is said to have an AI operating system that allows it to operate autonomously without humans. While China insists that the ship was built for research purposes at sea, others note that the potential in the military field is enormous.
The carrier's ability to monitor a wide area allows the Chinese navy to locate and target enemy ships or expand patrols in the Pacific Ocean through the use of drones or other weapons.
The Rand Post senior security analyst at the US think tank in the United States, Timothy Heath, said the carrier definitely had military applications. "Drone carriers may be deployed in remote locations to place smart land mines, that's one example of their use," Heath told the South China Morning Post.