AJN Agency.- China’s first AI-operated remote-controlled ship has successfully passed initial sea trials, with its developer, Beikun Intelligence, claiming some of its technological capabilities are “world-leading.”
Beikun Director Mu Haifang told Zhoushan Daily that the unmanned surface vessel (USV) successfully crossed the two designated routes and collected data as planned.
The 200-ton USV, which resembles a hybrid between the US Sea Hunter drone ship and the US Zumwalt-class destroyer, completed its maiden voyage of three hours off the coast of Zhoushan in eastern Zhejiang province, according to the South China Morning Post.
“Its most distinctive feature is its AI cabin with autonomous navigation technology, and all parts of the ship are entirely made in China,” said Mu.
Although the yet-to-be-named USV bears a strong resemblance to the US Navy’s most advanced stealth destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, not least because of its boxy superstructure, wave-pierced nose and hull shape.
The Chinese USV has a trimaran at its stern, a design feature first seen on the Sea Hunter, which has been undergoing tests since its launch in 2016. In tests conducted in 2018-19, it sailed autonomously from San Diego. , in California , to Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, and back, on a round trip of more than 8,300 km (5,200 miles), according to the South China Morning Post.
The Chinese vessel is the same size as the US Navy’s Marine Hunter, the world’s largest USV, at 40 meters long and 13 meters wide, and weighs 145 tonnes, compared to 190 meters by 25 meters and the Zumwalt’s 15,000 tonnes.
China’s USV manufacturer Beikun did not say what the ship’s actual use would be, but stated that it was designed to achieve the purposes of offshore navigation, low noise, intelligence, stealth, as well as unmanned and autonomous navigation. according to the report of the Zhoushan Daily Report.
“Currently, drones navigate independently in relatively open waters, and there are still several ways to achieve the goal of high-speed autonomous navigation.”
