“China has launched the world’s first artificial intelligence-operated drone carrier, an unmanned maritime mothership that can be used for maritime research, intelligence-gathering and even potentially repelling enemy drone swarms.”
“The autonomous ship, known as Zhu Hai Yun, was launched on May 18 in Guangzhou and travels at a top speed of 18 knots. Most of the 88.5-meter-long ship is an open deck for storing, launching and recovering flying drones.”
“It is also equipped with launch and recovery equipment for aquatic drones. Moreover, the ship’s drones are reportedly capable of forming a network with which to observe targets. Its AI operating system allows it to carry 50 flying, surface and submersible drones that can launch and recover autonomously.”
“According to the Chinese state-run Science and Technology Daily, the ship will be deployed to carry out marine scientific research and observation and serve various roles in marine disaster prevention and mitigation, environmental monitoring and offshore wind farm maintenance.”
“Dake Chen, director of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory that owns the ship, told media that ‘the vessel is not only an unprecedented precision tool at the frontier of marine science, but also a platform for marine disaster prevention and mitigation, seabed precision mapping, marine environment monitoring, and maritime search and rescue.”’