China Begins Converting Bulk Carriers into Aircraft Carriers for Drones

China has started converting bulk carriers into aircraft carriers for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), reports The War Zone (TWZ).

According to the publication, China has transformed a medium-sized cargo ship into an improvised combat vessel – a carrier for modern strike drones. A modular electromagnetic catapult (EMALS) has been installed on the ship's deck, designed for launching fixed-wing drones.

Photos from the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai also previously showed small combat drones with large wingspans near the ship, which externally resemble the so-called "loyal wingman" drones from the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) series.