China records possible tests of GJ-21 stealth drone
Flights of the large GJ-21 stealth strike drone have been recorded in China. The drone is expected to be launched from the Type 076 Sichuan amphibious assault ship. Footage of the unmanned aircraft was published on Chinese social media, showing it flying over a roadside service center in the city of Huludao, Liaoning province, in the country’s northeast.
As reported by the South China Morning Post, the outlet geolocated two videos that likely show flight tests of the GJ-21. One recording was published on August 19 and another on Thursday. They show the drone flying over the same service center, but from different directions. It has not been reliably established when exactly these videos were filmed. A third video appeared online on the same day, showing the GJ-21 from another angle.
Naval version of the GJ-11
The GJ-21 is a naval variant of the GJ-11 stealth strike drone. It first appeared publicly at China’s Victory Day parade in September last year, after which it rarely appeared in open-source materials.
In July, state broadcaster CCTV showed a computer animation of a GJ-21 launch from the Type 076 Sichuan. In the CCTV report, an expert said that the 40,000-ton ship had entered the final phase of testing. The People’s Liberation Army Navy of China is expected to receive it by the end of the year.
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Tests of the Sichuan
Other CCTV footage showed the ship with deck markings and while deploying decoys. At the beginning of the month, the broadcaster also demonstrated the launch of a red test vehicle using an electromagnetic aircraft launch system.
The Sichuan is described as the world’s only amphibious assault ship equipped with an electromagnetic catapult. It is expected to launch manned and unmanned fixed-wing aircraft, including the GJ-21, as well as helicopters.
A satellite image shared by X user MT Anderson likely showed the Sichuan on August 25 near the Qingdao naval base alongside two Type 052 destroyers and three Type 054 frigates. SCMP was unable to independently verify the image. The aircraft carrier Liaoning was also visible in it, but no connection between the presence of these ships and the Sichuan’s tests has been established.
