"Attack-21" Successfully Takes Off and Lands on the Sichuan Ship, PLA Advances into the Era of Drone Aircraft Carriers

[Global Times Report, Reporter Guo Yuandan] According to Xinhua News Agency on October 30, the PLA's first shipborne reconnaissance-strike integrated stealth drone "Attack-21" recently successfully took off and landed for the first time on China's first 076 amphibious assault ship, the Sichuan. Military experts interviewed by the Global Times stated that this practice is the first of its kind globally, indicating that the PLA is one step closer to the era of drone aircraft carriers, and the 076 amphibious assault ship will thus become the world's first catapult-equipped drone aircraft carrier.

"The 'Attack-21' is the world's first large reconnaissance-strike integrated stealth drone designed for use on amphibious assault ships. This catapult test is also the first time a large reconnaissance-strike integrated drone has been launched from an amphibious assault ship," military expert Zhang Xuefeng explained. "The 'Attack-21' has three major advantages: First, it has outstanding stealth performance. The aircraft employs a flying wing layout and S-shaped dorsal air intake, eliminating strong radar reflection sources and exhibiting excellent omnidirectional stealth capabilities, even outperforming current stealth fighter jets, making it suitable for striking well-defended targets and capable of executing 'door-kicking' missions as the first wave of assault forces. Second, it has a relatively large operational radius. The flying wing layout enhances subsonic cruise efficiency; although the aircraft's dimensions are much smaller than those of the J-35 and J-20, its operational radius is not inferior. Third, it has low operating costs and is reusable. Compared to hypersonic missiles, this aircraft can be recovered and reused multiple times, and it can also deploy small, low-cost glide-guided bombs, achieving higher firepower delivery efficiency and more controllable costs under high-frequency operational conditions.

According to Zhang Xuefeng's analysis, the 076 amphibious assault ship can work in coordination with aircraft carriers. If this type of shipborne reconnaissance-strike integrated stealth drone is equipped on the 076 amphibious assault ship, it will significantly enhance the strike capabilities of the carrier group against both sea and land targets. Additionally, this drone can be grouped with manned fighter jets to collaboratively execute high-risk complex missions, such as implementing air defense suppression, where manned aircraft open an aerial corridor while the drone advances to suppress enemy ground targets and air defense systems.

Military expert Song Zhongping introduced to the Global Times reporter that as a large drone, the 'Attack-21' has a takeoff weight of over ten tons and cannot take off autonomously from a conventional deck; it must rely on a catapult system. At the same time, the 076 amphibious assault ship is equipped with an arrestor system to ensure the 'Attack-21' achieves stable and reliable arrested landings. He stated, "This official announcement indicates that the 076 amphibious assault ship has, to some extent, begun technical verification related to catapult-equipped drone aircraft carriers, initially forming the basic operational capability of a catapult-equipped drone aircraft carrier. In the future, the 076 will continue to carry out adaptation verification work for multiple types of drones."

Song Zhongping mentioned that besides being deployed on the 076 amphibious assault ship, there is also the possibility of the 'Attack-21' being equipped on the electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier Fujian in the future. The 076 type undertakes the function of verifying cutting-edge technologies and can independently perform tasks as a drone aircraft carrier, while also providing technical accumulation for creating a manned/unmanned collaborative deployment platform for the Fujian, expanding the operational patterns of carrier groups.

Public reports indicate that the X-47B shipborne drone project previously developed by the United States was adapted for traditional aircraft carrier platforms but was ultimately canceled due to multiple technical constraints. Song Zhongping believes that in comparison, the 'Attack-21' project is progressing smoothly with an efficient development pace, and it has broad application scenarios in the future.

"The 'Attack-21' is China's independently developed first officially equipped shipborne stealth reconnaissance-strike integrated drone, marking a practical breakthrough in shipborne drone technology," military expert Zhang Junsha commented in an interview with reporters, stating that it will promote the evolution of maritime combat towards unmanned, intelligent, and systematic directions, changing the future forms and rules of naval warfare and significantly enhancing the PLA Navy's comprehensive operational capabilities in distant seas.