Is China building a fleet of drone motherships to extend its naval reach?

A second unusual Chinese vessel suspected of being designed to launch and recover large underwater drones has appeared in Guangzhou, raising questions over whether Beijing is developing a fleet of specialised motherships to extend its undersea operations beyond coastal waters.Both feature conspicuous vertical structures at the stern that naval analysts believe could be used to lower large underwater drones into the water and recover them.Although the hull shape of the vessel spotted in the Pearl River differs to that in a Shanghai shipyard, both feature raised deckhouses towards the bow, hangar-like spaces and large openings at the stern. Photo: HandoutIf confirmed as military motherships, the vessels could enable the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy to deploy and recover large uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) far from Chinese ports, potentially expanding its ability to conduct undersea surveillance, seabed mapping and other military missions in the western Pacific, including waters east of Taiwan.