Overview
- A peer-reviewed SJTU paper describes metamaterial sandwich panels that are designed to dissipate blast shockwaves and protect critical power, communications and navigation spaces.
- Design contracts signed with China State Shipbuilding Corporation in December 2024 specify dimensions of about 138 meters by 85 meters with a main deck 45 meters above the waterline and a twin-hull semi-submersible form.
- The platform is specified to operate in sea state 7, survive up to category 17 typhoons, support roughly 238 personnel for four months and cruise at up to 15 knots.
- Project leaders say they are racing toward operational status by 2028, and media reports say work has begun on the national facility listed under China’s 14th Five-Year Plan.
- Analysts caution the mobile, long-endurance platform could serve communications, logistics or surveillance roles in far-sea or contested waters such as the South China Sea.