Chinese-Sea-Hunter-USV-Update



CLICK to enlarge.

Lonely Child: China's Sea Hunter USV Copy Going Nowhere?

Flag China The U.S. Navy recently took delivery of its second mid-sized USV (Uncrewed Surface Vessel). The Seahawk is similar to the existing Sea Hunter design, but includes many improvements. Meanwhile in China, a remarkably similar vessel is sitting outside a shipyard.

This unidentified vessel is believed to be a mid-size USV (Uncrewed Surface Vessel). It closely resembles the U.S. Navy's Sea Hunter USV, in both size and form. It was first reported in September 2020 but satellite evidence suggests that it was launched before August 30, 2019.

Recent satellite imagery from Airbus (via Shadowbreak Intl.) appears to show the vessel still at the site where it was built; Tongfangjiang New Shipyard in Jiangxi Province.

This implies that it has not been trialed by the Chinese Navy, or if it was, has not been successful.

Chinese Copy of U.S. Navy Sea Hunter USV
This candid photo appeared om Chinese social media in September 2020

Chinese Copy of U.S. Navy Sea Hunter USV

It is unclear if its intended role is the same as the U.S. Navy type. Sea Hunter was buyilt in answer to the ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program started by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in the 2010. The medium-sized USV was launched in 2016, three years before the Chinese copy. The ACTUV concept is for an unmanned vessel optimized to robustly track quiet diesel electric submarines. Basically once the submarine has been detected, the USV follows it closely.


Get The essential guide to World Submarines
This Covert Shores Recognition Guide Covers over 80 classes of submarines including all types currently in service with World Navies.
Check it out on Amazon

Due to their higher speed, nuclear-powered submarines could escape the close trail of the USV. So the U.S. Navy’s submarine should be largely immune from a platform like this. But other countries in China’s area of interest, such as Japan, Australia and India, all have diesel-electric submarines.

The apparent lack of Chinese Navy interest suggests that this vessel was a commercial undertaking. They were possibly speculating for Navy interest, positions in future programs or even exports.
Chinese Copy of U.S. Navy Sea Hunter USV


THE book on Special Forces subs Covert Shores 2nd Edition. A world history of naval Special Forces, their missions and their specialist vehicles. SEALs, SBS, COMSUBIN, Sh-13, Spetsnaz, Kampfschwimmers, Commando Hubert, 4RR and many more.
Check it out on Amazon

A Possible New Large USV?

The vessel seen next to the 'Sea Hunter' appears to be a catamaran with a faceted superstructure in the extreme bow. While unconfirmed, this is reminiscent of a configuration being trialed by several countries for USVs. The layout allows for the largest practical deck at the back. China has already been experimenting with USVs using this general layout, only on a smaller scale:
Chinese Copy of U.S. Navy Sea Hunter USV
A smaller Chinese USV, possibly the M40P, with a similar layout.


Related articles (Full index of popular Covert Shores articles)
Flag Chinese Type-093 Shang Class Submarine
Flag Chinese Sailless Submarine
Flag NMRS UUV captured by North Korea
Flag XLUUV armed extra-large UUV
Flag Chinese HSU-001 LDUUV
Flag Garmoniya-GUIDE AUV
Flag Sub ASWUUV anti-submarine unmanned underwater vehicle
Biomimetic Underwater Vehicles
Flag Poseidon Intercontinental Nuclear-Powered Nuclear-Armed Autonomous Torpedo, and countering it
Flag Russian Navy Beluga whale