This is the first widely circulated image of the Chinese trimaran, but it leaves many questions unanswered. Most importantly, what is the actual purpose of the ship? At the same time, details suggest the craft is fully or almost fully submersible, making it a hybrid design.
The photo, which recently began circulating on social media and was reposted at the top of this article, provides a side view of the vessel in the water. While the date of the photo is unknown, the location is likely the Huangpu Shipyard in Guangzhou Province, where the ship was reportedly spotted in satellite imagery over the past few months. Our previous knowledge of the ship’s appearance apparently came entirely from naval analyst HI Sutton, who viewed the image in which the ship was still covered in tarps.
As shown in satellite images, the black-painted vessel has the following characteristics: Both Surface ships and submarines. The ship’s elongated shape has also been noted before, suggesting a high level of efficiency. From this perspective, however, it appears that the approximately 210-foot-long vessel was not necessarily tailor-made for high performance, at least not as a top priority.
At the same time, from this perspective, the ship’s submarine characteristics may be more obvious.
These features may also include thrusters at the rear, suggesting pump jet engines are being installed, a possible feature noted by Alex Luck, a journalist who closely follows the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Pumpjet engines offer a range of advantages over traditional propellers, the most important being the ability to reach higher speeds without producing noisy cavitation, meaning they can fly longer distances more stealthily.
More obvious in this view is the submarine-like sail, which houses a snorkel or possibly an antenna mast.
Even now it’s unclear whether the ship was manned or unmanned.
If it falls into the unmanned category, then the trimaran is likely to be some kind of hybrid between an unmanned surface vessel (USV) and an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), essentially a semi-submersible, a point also raised by HI Sutton.
However, in this new image, there are signs that the ship may be able to operate completely Or at least almost completely submerged. Features such as the overall design and depth markings on the sails and elsewhere on the hull suggest it is a hybrid submersible/surface craft with the advantages of stealth when underwater and relatively efficient sailing when surfaced.
Depth marks on trimaran sails. byX
There are also more depth markings on the bow. byX
One of the most persistent theories regarding its purpose is that it was an arsenal ship.
China has been rumored to be developing such vessels for years. The idea is to have an unmanned, hard-to-find ship that can fire missiles (land attack and/or anti-ship) before disappearing beneath the waves.
Unofficial renderings show a potential configuration of a Chinese semi-submersible arsenal ship, featuring a trimaran hull:
The future of naval warfare?
China plans to build a trimaran unmanned semi-submersible arsenal ship.
These ships are very suitable for sneak attacks on enemy ports and launch a large number of missiles and drones as the beginning of a war. pic.twitter.com/TbY8xju8GM
This type of vessel could also provide additional magazine depth to more traditional surface combatants, which may also provide targeting solutions. Overall, the concept of arsenal ships with no or minimal crew is currently gaining popularity around the world.
However, so far there is no conclusive evidence that the trimaran has a vertical launch system installed on the deck, as outlined for an arsenal ship.
Another possibility, as suggested by HI Sutton, is that the ship is intended to serve as a “mother ship” for drones.
Its interior space could be given to drones instead of arsenal ships carrying cruise missiles, an extension of a concept pioneered by Ukraine on a smaller physical scale during its conflict with Russia. If it is the mothership of drones, then the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) type seems the most logical. Traditional takeoff and landing drones don’t have an obvious “flight deck,” although another possibility could be some form of catapult or orbital launch system. In particular, the Shahed type long-range one-way attack drone can be launched from orbit using a rocket booster.
If I remember correctly, a drone was spotted on the flight deck of the Shandong ship for the first time.
Even though I don’t know its type and/or name, the one with the inverted V tail looks like the one shown in the third picture…but the other one?
As an alternative to drones, the ship may be designed to carry soldiers. Semi- or fully submersible vessels are particularly useful for mobilizing special forces in coastal areas or between islands and reefs. It’s worth noting that the U.S. Navy also has its own very low-profile special operations craft – the Sea Lion or Combat Craft Heavy (CCH). Other more exotic aircraft are also suitable for special operations roles.
Less spectacularly, the trimaran may simply be a test bed for future technology, perhaps exploring the possible role of semi- or fully submersible vessels for the People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese Navy does have a history of building customized ships ostensibly for research and development, test and evaluation, and training purposes.
At the moment, we have no idea what the black-painted trimaran was designed to do, nor any further details about its systems and crew (or lack thereof). However, as more images slowly come to light, the ship may not be so mysterious anymore.
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