China Building Second UUV Carrier

China is building a second specialized vessel to transport, launch, and recover unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).

The War Zone reported this.

The new vessel was spotted at a Guangzhou shipyard.

Its design closely resembles a previously spotted vessel under construction in Shanghai, but it is about one-third smaller.

The new vessel features a distinctive tall, rectangular superstructure, an open upper deck, a stern compartment for handling underwater vehicles, and a hangar behind the forward superstructure.

Despite its smaller size, the new vessel retains the key design features of the first ship.

According to TWZ, Guangzhou Shipyard International built the vessel; the shipyard is part of the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation and focuses on building specialized vessels.

The exact specifications of the new vessel are unknown. However, its larger counterpart in Shanghai is approximately 204 meters long and up to 30 meters wide.

The stern has a dedicated compartment for launching and recovering underwater vehicles. It will use a platform approximately 50 meters long that can be lowered into the water using vertical lifting structures.

The emergence of these vessels is linked to the development of large Chinese UUVs that approach the size of full-scale submarines. In September 2025, China showcased the HSU100 and AJX002 UUVs at a military parade in Beijing.

According to the South China Morning Post, the drone may be powered by a single-use nuclear reactor. Its performance allows it to reach a cruising speed of more than 30 knots (approximately 55 km/h) and operate autonomously for up to 200 hours. Once the reactor is depleted, it detaches and sinks to the seabed, while the drone continues its mission on battery power, likely using conventional weapons.