China’s GJ-21 naval stealth combat drone is undergoing further flight tests near Huludao, bringing the country closer to deploying large stealth drones from warships for the first time, with new footage appearing to show the aircraft during these tests. The aircraft is being developed alongside the Type 076 Sichuan.
🔸 The GJ-21 is the naval variant of China’s GJ-11 stealth attack drone. Its tailless flying-wing design reduces radar visibility, helping it approach defended areas without exposing a pilot.
🔸 Videos posted this month show the aircraft flying over Liaoning province. The precise purpose of the flights has not been disclosed, but the footage indicates that testing is continuing as China prepares its future shipborne drone force.
🔸 The Sichuan is a new-generation amphibious assault ship displacing more than 40,000 tonnes. It combines a full-length flight deck with an electromagnetic catapult and arresting gear capable of launching and recovering fixed-wing aircraft.
🔸 Chinese state television has already shown a computer-generated GJ-21 launch from the Type 076. The ship’s electromagnetic catapult would allow large drones to take off with more fuel and heavier payloads than vertical-launch aircraft can carry.
🔸 From the deck of the Sichuan, stealth drones could conduct reconnaissance, electronic warfare and strikes against heavily defended targets while keeping the ship and its crewed aircraft farther from danger.
🔸 This would extend Chinese air power beyond land-based airfields without requiring another conventional aircraft carrier. A Type 076 could move low-observable sensors and weapons across the Western Pacific while also transporting helicopters, troops and amphibious equipment.
China has not yet publicly demonstrated a GJ-21 catapult launch or arrested landing at sea. But the aircraft, ship and launch system are now advancing in parallel toward integration.
Once connected, they could give China the world’s first operational shipborne force built around large stealth combat drones — creating an entirely new challenge for the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.
Will drone carriers eventually make traditional aircraft carriers obsolete?
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