Click to see full-size image. (Chinese internet)
China has apparently developed a truck-mounted electromagnetic aircraft launch system, or more simply a mobile electromagnetic catapult, for large drones.
The catapult, which is made up from at least three eight-wheeled trucks that look designed to lock together seamlessly in a chain, first came out from Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard on December 29. What appears to be a mockup of a Feihong FH-97 jet-powered stealth combat drone was loaded onto the catapult, and another appeared next to it.
The FH-97, first unveiled in 2021, was developed as a “loyal wingman” drone, designed to suppress air defenses with electronic countermeasures, fly ahead of fighter jets to provide early warning, and absorb damage from attacks, as well as providing reconnaissance and damage evaluation. The drone can deploy not just precision-guided munitions, but also loitering munitions.
Click to see full-size image. (Chinese internet)
The catapult may have been developed by Tiantao Technology, which in August showcased rendering of a ground-based electromagnetic catapult system made up of modular wheeled segments.
The company reportedly said at the time that the system will be capable of launching uncrewed aircraft weighing up to around 2.2 tons. Interestingly, the FH-97 weighs 3,5 tons.
Click to see full-size image. (Tiantao Technology)
Just three days after the catapult was first spotted, more photos surfaced from Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard, this time showing both the system and the drones loaded on top of a cargo ship already equipped with containerized missile systems, completed with radars, air defenses and counter-measures. Photos of the ship itself surfaced online earlier in the month. Notably, an additional eight-wheeled truck was added to the catapult chain.
Click to see full-size image. (Chinese internet)
The photos suggest that the catapult was designed mainly to quickly convert cargo ships into drone carriers. However, this remains more of a concept as it leaves many questions unanswered.
While in theory such a system could allow drones like the FH-97 to take off from a regular cargo ship, it is still unclear how the drones would land later.
And if we were to consider that the drones would go back to land at some air base on land, and that the main goal of the system is just to launch them closer to their targets in a covert manner, there is already a more practical way to achieve this and that is a jet-assisted take-off system, or more known by its acronym JATO.
JATO is a type of assisted take-off for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets.
A mobile electromagnetic catapult is a far more expensive and complex solution to launch drones like the FH-97, then just developing a JATO system for the drone. A jet-assisted system would even take much less space on a cargo ship, and allow the launch of multiple drones nearly simultaneously.
Just earlier this year, the U.S. Kratos tested the launch of its XQ-58 Valkyrie, a “loyal wingman” drone comparable to the FH-97, with a JATO system.
Click to see full-size image. (U.S. Air Force)
Considering this, it can be assumed that the catapult that appeared at Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard is nothing more than a concept meant to study the idea in the framework of China’s ongoing efforts to develop solutions to quickly convert cargo ships into warships. Such solutions would allow Beijing to quickly and covertly boost its naval capabilities in case of a conflict involving Taiwan island.
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perfidy
launch weapons from a cargo ship is a war crime.
it’s called “act of perfidy”.
apparently, according to the usadmin and its nato poodles, there are no crimes in war…or genocide. the isreali apartheid regime wages war by deception. so be it.
it will protect cargo ships from johnny rotten pirates.
taking on modern day china isn’t going to be as easy as iraq, libya, afghanistan. fighting a tech savvy army for the sake of computer chips will cost america dearly. these guys don’t wear sandals to war and they don’t travel by foot or donkey.