Attack ship? Research ship? Both? The mystery of the new Chinese ship captured by satellite

Latest satellite imagery suggests China is building a mysterious new ship with some features of an amphibious or civilian ocean research vessel.

The ship being built by Guangzhou Shipyard International on Longxue Island in southern China has a large open flight deck, according to photos taken by Planet Earth last Wednesday and published Monday by U.S. military platform The Warzone.

Its configuration resembles a light aircraft carrier or amphibious aircraft, such as Japan’s Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer or China’s 075 attack ship, according to Tom Shugart, a senior assistant professor at the Washington-based security think tank Center for a New American Security.

Shugart, who distributed the photos on X (formerly Twitter), posted that the ship was 200 meters long and about 40 meters wide and asked whether it was “perhaps a new aircraft carrier or an amphibious landing craft of some sort.” sort” or even “research media”.

“Warzone” also highlighted the possibility of designing a new ship to carry military aircraft, stating: “China indeed has a long history of developing and implementing new maritime scientific research capabilities with clear potential military applications.”

Shugart also said his attention was drawn to a 60-meter crewless trimaran that is being built nearby by the No. 716 Research Institute of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Chinese authorities have not commented on any of the ships or confirmed their destination.