GJ-21 Stealth Drone Lands on China’s Type 076 Ship Sichuan
China’s GJ-21 stealth drone has made its first landing on the Type 076 Sichuan. We trace the ship’s trials and compare it with U.S. amphibious ships.
BEIJING, Oct. 30, 2026 — China’s navy has landed a fixed-wing stealth drone on an amphibious assault ship for the first time. The GJ-21, a reconnaissance-and-strike drone, “recently” completed its first takeoff and landing aboard the Sichuan, hull number 51, the first of China’s Type 076 ships, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday, citing navy officials. Xinhua called it a breakthrough that shows the navy can launch and recover fixed-wing stealth drones from “large maritime combat platforms.”
The report gave no date, location or number of flights. The South China Morning Post citing state broadcaster CCTV, reported that the Sichuan carried out back-to-back sea trials late this month at an undisclosed location. This article sets the milestone against the ship’s two-year trial record and what U.S. government analysts have published about it.
What China announced
According to Xinhua, the Sichuan was launched and named on Dec. 27, 2024. It uses a fully automated landing guidance system, a new integrated electric power system, and electromagnetic catapult and arresting technology. Xinhua said the ship can carry fixed-wing drones, helicopters and amphibious equipment, and that it has “steadily” worked through equipment checks and stability tests since its first sea trial in November 2025. The Global Times, which republished the Xinhua account in English, carried the same details for international readers.
The catapult is the key detail. It lets the ship launch a heavy fixed-wing aircraft that cannot take off vertically, and the arresting gear lets it land again on a short deck. The first landing is the step that turns a ship designed for drones into one that has actually operated one.
Timeline: from launch to first landing
| Date | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Type 076 built as the PLA Navy’s first dedicated drone carrier | DSIAC (U.S. Defense Department information center) |
| Dec. 27, 2024 | Sichuan launched and named | Xinhua |
| April 24, 2025 | CRS report estimates the class at roughly 50,000 tons with a drone catapult | Congressional Research Service |
| September 2025 | GJ-21, a naval version of the GJ-11 drone, first appears at the Victory Day parade in Beijing | SCMP |
| November 2025 | Sichuan begins its first sea trial | Xinhua |
| July 2026 | CCTV airs computer-made footage of a GJ-21 catapult launch; a commentator says the ship is in final testing | SCMP |
| August 2026 | GJ-21 seen on test flights over Huludao, Liaoning province | SCMP |
| Oct. 30, 2026 | Xinhua reports the first GJ-21 takeoff and landing on the Sichuan | Xinhua, CCTV |
How the Type 076 compares
Estimates of the ship’s size differ. The Congressional Research Service, in its April 2025 report China Naval Modernization, put the Type 076 at roughly 50,000 tons. The SCMP, in a July 2026 report, called it a 40,000-tonne ship with a flight deck 250 meters long and 62 meters wide. A fair reading is a ship of between 40,000 and 50,000 tons.
| Ship type | Displacement (estimate) | Fixed-wing aircraft | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Type 075 (Yushen) | About 36,000 tons (CRS) | Not reported in these sources | First ship commissioned April 2021 (CRS) |
| China Type 076 (Sichuan) | 40,000 to 50,000 tons (SCMP, CRS) | GJ-21 stealth drone, launched by catapult | Sea trials; no commissioning announced |
| U.S. Navy LHA/LHD | 41,000 to 45,000 tons (CRS) | Crewed F-35B jets, for example on USS America (LHA 6) | In service |
The comparison shows the trade China has made. The Type 076 is about the size of an American big-deck amphibious ship, but its fixed-wing air group is built around drones rather than crewed jets.
Analysis: what the landing changes
The landing matters less as a stunt than as a change in what an amphibious ship can do. A U.S. Defense Department information center, the Defense Systems Information Analysis Center, wrote in a June 2025 report on Chinese drone motherships that the PLA Navy built the Type 076 as its first dedicated drone carrier. The same report describes a PLA approach that would blend drone swarms with “manned platforms acting as arsenal aircraft or ships” to cover larger areas. A stealthy drone that can scout and strike from such a deck gives a landing force its own eyes and weapons without risking pilots. CRS notes that large amphibious ships such as the Type 076 would be of value in a Taiwan conflict, while some observers believe China also wants them for South and East China Sea operations, disaster relief and evacuations.
The gap with the United States is also worth noting. CRS says the U.S. Navy’s main carrier drone program, the MQ-25 Stingray, is a refueling tanker with a secondary surveillance role, and that some observers have argued the Navy should develop a stealthy carrier drone able to strike at long range. China has now flown such a drone from a ship that is not even its largest flat-top.
Caution is still in order. One takeoff and one landing do not make an operational air wing. Xinhua did not say whether the drone carried weapons, how many GJ-21s exist, or when the ship will enter service.
What to watch
- Video or imagery of the landing, which would show the deck setup and the drone’s arresting hook in use.
- A commissioning ceremony for the Sichuan and its assignment to a fleet.
- Repeated launches in a single day, the real test of whether the ship can run drone operations at scale.
Sources
- Xinhua: GJ-21 completes first takeoff and landing on Sichuan (Oct. 30, 2026)
- Congressional Research Service: China Naval Modernization (RL33153, April 24, 2025)
- DSIAC (DTIC): Aerial Drone Motherships in China’s Military (June 2025)
- South China Morning Post: China carries out GJ-21 drone takeoff and landing on first Type 076 warship (Oct. 30, 2026)
