China’s first domestically built drone ship completes initial sea trial

China’s first domestically built drone ship has completed its maiden sea trial in what was hailed as a breakthrough in autonomous navigation and intelligent technologies of unmanned vessels for the nation. The trial was conducted in waters off eastern Zhejiang province on June 7, 2022. With a length of more than 40 metres (131ft), the as-yet unnamed ship has a displacement of about 200 tonnes with a maximum speed of more than 20 knots. The ship previously was seen in waters of east China’s Jiangxi province in 2019 when its autonomous navigation capability went on show for the first time. The three hours of data collection done during the latest trial included its first collision avoidance tests. China is also expected to soon conduct sea trials on the nation’s third aircraft carrier, the Type 003.