Technology & Science
China’s First Catapult-Equipped Drone Amphib ‘Sichuan’ Starts Sea Trials
At 09:00 on 14 Nov 2025, the 40,000-ton Type 076 assault ship CNS Sichuan departed Hudong-Zhonghua in Shanghai for its first multi-day sea trial to validate propulsion and electrical systems.
Focusing Facts
- Hull 51 was launched on 27 Dec 2024 and reached sea trials just 25 months after keel-laying, according to PLAN statements and yard imagery.
- Sichuan is the PLAN’s inaugural amphibious platform with an electromagnetic catapult—only the second Chinese warship after carrier CNS Fujian to field this technology.
- The PLA Navy already operates four smaller Type 075 LHDs; Sichuan’s wider 850 × 170 ft flight deck suggests a doctrinal shift toward UCAV-centric ‘drone carrier’ operations.
Context
Fast-tracked sea trials echo the Imperial Japanese Navy’s 1939–41 sprint to commission the light carrier Zuihō before the Pacific War, showing how rising powers leverage commercial yards for wartime-ready tonnage. Structurally, Sichuan embodies three long-arc trends: China’s civil-military shipbuilding integration (mirroring the U.S. “arsenal of democracy” shipyards of the 1940s), the global naval pivot from crewed air wings to unmanned systems, and Beijing’s quest for expeditionary capability beyond the first island chain. Whether the catapult ultimately hurls stealth drones or merely demonstrates industrial bravado, the milestone matters because it normalises carrier-grade launch tech on lower-tier vessels—eroding the cost barrier that once confined such capability to supercarriers. On a 100-year horizon, if electromagnetically-launched UCAVs prove effective, Sichuan may be remembered less as an amphib and more as the prototype of a post-crew fleet, much like HMS Dreadnought (1906) reframed battleship design; if not, it will join a lineage of under-utilised ‘firsts’ such as the 1980s Soviet Kiev-class hybrids. Either way, the ship’s rapid gestation underscores that industrial velocity, not just hull count, is reshaping maritime power balances.
Perspectives
Chinese state-owned media
e.g., Xinhua’s eng.chinamil.com.cn, China Daily — Present the Sichuan’s maiden trial as a routine but proud milestone proving China’s growing shipbuilding prowess and cutting-edge tech like its first electromagnetic-catapult amphibious ship. Minimize or omit any discussion of regional security ramifications or Taiwan contingencies, framing the launch in benign, development-focused language that aligns with official propaganda goals.
U.S. / Western defense and maritime outlets
e.g., Yahoo/The War Zone, Maritime Executive — Frame the Type 076 as a game-changing “drone carrier” that expands the PLA Navy’s power-projection reach and signals Beijing’s accelerating naval modernization. Hype the vessel’s capabilities and strategic threat—often relying on open-source imagery and speculation—to drive clicks and underscore calls for Western vigilance and defense spending.
Taiwanese media
e.g., Taipei Times — Warn that the new catapult-equipped amphibious ship heightens the direct military threat to Taiwan by enabling simultaneous air strikes and troop landings. Emphasizes worst-case invasion scenarios to rally domestic support for greater asymmetric defenses, potentially overstating the vessel’s still-untested operational effectiveness.