Terrifying uncrewed surface vessel 'Sea Hunter' developed by the Chinese as a waterborne force multiplier capable of 24/7 operations in any body of water in South China. These robotic drones use AI to accomplish tasks as an expendable platform for sea combat.
These machines are part of fleets as ocean combat shifts from human-crewed ships to uncrewed ships.
New sea-borne weapon platforms like these are asymmetrical to traditional weapon systems.
China's northern pier docks unreported uncrewed surface vessels
The Sea Hunter derivative unmanned maritime drone mounts torpedoes as weapons. It is seen via satellite images showing a naval installation, reported the Sun UK.
Images were of Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs), a new model under testing in an unidentified pier located off China's north coast.
The Chinese navy built the JARI USV in 2018 and is stored at the Dalian pier, noted the USNI News.
Called the 'mini destroyer,' JARI is about 50-foot long and armed with remotely fired weapons like surface-to-air missiles and light torpedos for killing sea vessels, said the source.
Sensors on the asymmetrical weaponized naval drone are high-tech phased array radar, with electro-optical systems and sonar as the suite added to the chassis by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
China's uncrewed surface vessels get upgrades
Changes to version 2 of JARI get a size upgrade that is 20-feet bigger, with changes in the superstructure of the weapon, with significant differences from the original.
Speculation from naval experts says there is another kept secret under wraps at the super-secret newly-built site, which started in 2017. The terrifying uncrewed surface vessel 'Sea Hunter' is another of these USV which the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has.
This pier is used once in a while by the PLAN, where it docked its submarines like the Type-035 Ming Class boat to do ballast tests on the pier.
Some PLAN submarines are docked in the Xiaopingdao naval base, less than ten miles away from the pier with the JARI USV.
Images by Maxar show another mysterious USV docked almost the same size but not clear about its designation.
The mystery drone is about 70-feet long, which has more similarities to a catamaran, with the same armament as the 50-foot JARI drone. Many have compared the PLAN USV to the much larger Sea Hunters of the US Navy.
Per unit, the US Navy's next-generation USV costs £147million and will be used as a force multiplier of the US Navy.
It can sail starting from San Diego to Guam to Pearl Harbor with a tank of gas. They are stealthy and use sensors to guide them on voyages on their own.
More weapons of the PLA Navy
Aside from robotic USVs in the water, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has plowed in money for their version of the B-21, noted SCMP. Other systems are hypersonic missiles and robot soldiers on four wheels as the answer to the USA in a future war.
One of the most feared weapons at the PLA's disposal is a Carrier Killer missile which is hypersonic and very fast!
But the terrifying uncrewed surface vessel 'Sea Hunter' is only one of the deadly systems if ever a conflict should come.
