According to Chinese state media, the GJ-21 stealth reconnaissance-strike unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) has completed its first take-off and landing aboard SICHUAN, the lead ship of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) Type 076 amphibious assault ship class. The milestone demonstrates the PLAN’s ability to launch and recover fixed-wing stealth drones from large surface combatants other than aircraft carriers.

SICHUAN (hull number 51) is the first Type 076 designed, developed and built entirely in China. According to the PLAN, the ship features a fully automated landing guidance system, a new integrated power system, an electromagnetic catapult and arresting gear, and can embark fixed-wing drones, helicopters and amphibious equipment. Since its launch, the ship has served as a testbed for advanced technologies and manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), while generating operational experience relevant to China’s wider carrier program.

The GJ-21 is believed to be a naval variant of the land-based GJ-11 SHARP SWORD, which was publicly unveiled at the 2019 National Day parade. Some observers of the Chinese military remained skeptical that a flying example would ever be fielded. Those doubts eased in November 2025, when official footage showed the GJ-11 flying alongside a PLA Air Force J-20 and J-16D, the first official footage of the type in flight. With a take-off weight of more than 10 metric tons, according to Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping, the GJ-21 cannot launch unaided from a ship’s deck and depends on a catapult such as the one fitted to the Type 076, which also has arresting gear for controlled recoveries. The aircraft adds a low-observable intelligence and strike capability to PLAN Naval Aviation and could support both the embarked PLAN Marine Corps contingent and the PLAN’s expanding carrier strike groups (CSG). How the service will integrate the GJ-21 into its operations and doctrine remains unclear.

According to PLA statements, in addition to operating from the Type 076, the GJ-21 may also deploy aboard FUJIAN, China’s first aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults, and serve as a Collaborative Combat Aircraft alongside the twin-seat J-20S fifth-generation fighter.

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