A Major Rival to U.S. Destroyers Has Arrived

The first images of China’s semi-submersible unmanned missile corvette have been released— a classified weapon that could shift the balance of power in future naval warfare in favor of Beijing.

According to Khabaronline, in a significant development in the field of naval military technology, the first official images of a highly classified, unmanned Chinese warship have circulated on the country’s social media platforms. The vessel, a semi-submersible missile corvette with a trimaran (three-hull) structure, has been designed to support the rapidly expanding fleet of advanced destroyers of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

A Secret Design Focused on Speed and Stealth

The emergence of these images—apparently taken at the Huangpu shipyard in Guangzhou—ends long-running speculation surrounding the program. Previous leaked images had completely concealed the vessel’s structure under protective tarps. Initial assessments indicate that the design centers on high-speed capability and, more importantly, its ability to partially submerge to evade radar detection and neutralize missile attacks. This semi-submersible capability transforms it into a stealthy and agile platform.

A Low-Cost “Kill Web” Supporting Type 055 Destroyers

The Chinese Navy intends to make extensive use of these unmanned missile corvettes as support units for its world-class destroyers, especially the Type 055. The importance of these vessels became evident last February during a war-gaming simulation conducted by Chinese research institutions.

In the simulated exercise, it was demonstrated that only two of these unmanned corvettes could assist a single Type 055 destroyer in defeating eight U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in a confrontation.

Remote Command: The Key to Victory in Future Warfare

The key to success in the simulation was the ability of these unmanned corvettes to launch large numbers of aerial drones and smaller unmanned surface vessels. These low-cost, remotely launched platforms formed an effective “Kill Web” alongside the command destroyer Type 055. The concept is based on an academic paper by Professor Yu Minghui, an artificial intelligence specialist and leader of the simulation team, published in January in the Journal of Chinese Ship Research.

This unveiling indicates that China is rapidly redefining the concept of naval warfare in the 21st century, where numerical superiority will be replaced by superiority in the intelligent and network-based deployment of unmanned weapon systems.