According to J. Michael Dahm, Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute and Naval News, China has built the world's first dedicated drone carrier.

A new aircraft carrier is tucked away far upriver from the big yards at Shanghai, in a shipyard on the Yangtze. It's the fourth ship built in China, and no one has ever before been informed of its existence. An aircraft carrier can only be constructed in relative secrecy by China.

This ship is shrouded in mystery; it was launched in December 2022 but has not been reported until now. J. Michael Dahm, Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute, and Naval News have been analyzing it together.

The previously unreported drone carrier (A) is longer but narrower than two drone motherships (C, D) built in the same yard. There are also several high-tech target barges (B, F), including one that mimics an aircraft carrier (E).

Mysterious Drone Carrier

The first three Chinese carriers are well-known to the internationa...