The test could expand the Chinese Navy’s use of unmanned aircraft at sea, bringing stealth reconnaissance and strike drones closer to becoming part of operations from its newest amphibious assault ship.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy confirmed on 30 October 2026 that a GJ-21 completed an electromagnetic catapult launch and an arrested landing aboard the Type 076 amphibious assault ship Sichuan, Hull 51.
The operation took place during the Sichuan’s October sea trials. The official Xinhua news agency released the news on 30 October and described the test as “a breakthrough in China's amphibious assault ship programme.”
The vessel represents a relatively recent addition to China’s fleet. Construction began at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai in October 2023, followed by a 14-month hull assembly. Sichuan was launched on 27 December 2024 as China’s first independently designed and built Type 076 amphibious assault ship.
It had its first sea trials in November 2025, before conducting consecutive sea trials in late October 2026. The ship has a 252.3-meter hull and approaches 260 meters in overall length, with a 45-meter hull beam and an estimated full-load displacement of 50,000 tonnes. It has a full-length flight deck and twin-island superstructure.
Its electromagnetic catapult and arresting technology are central to the drone test. Testing of the catapult with dead-load vehicles took place in August 2026, before the GJ-21 operation.
The GJ-21 is a navalised version of the GJ-11 stealth reconnaissance-strike drone. It has a tailless flying-wing design, an upper engine intake with an S-shaped duct and a takeoff weight exceeding ten tons. Its naval equipment includes strengthened landing gear, a nose-gear launch bar for the catapult and an arresting hook.
Two GJ-21 drones were displayed at the 3 September 2025 military parade in Beijing. Later that year, several GJ-21s carried out simulated launches and arrested landings at the Huangdicun land facility. In November 2025, the land-based GJ-11 demonstrated coordinated flight with a J-20 stealth fighter.
Military expert Zhang Xuefeng said: “GJ-21 is also low cost and reusable. Unlike hypersonic missiles, it can be recovered and redeployed multiple times. It can also deploy small, low-cost glide-guided bombs.”
Chinese officials did not specify the date within October, the location of the operation or the number of launch and recovery cycles. No photographs or video of the GJ-21’s operations had been released publicly at the time of writing.
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