Overview
- The GJ-21 completed its first shipborne takeoff and landing on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, during late-October sea trials aboard the Type 076 lead ship Sichuan, state media and international wire services reported.
- The Sichuan is a more than 40,000-ton Type 076 amphibious assault ship with a full-length flight deck, twin-island superstructure, an electromagnetic catapult and arresting gear to enable launch and recovery of fixed-wing aircraft.
- Chinese outlets describe the GJ-21 as a heavy, low-observable reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle with reported dimensions of about 12.2 meters long and 14.4 meters wide and the ability to carry small glide-guided munitions.
- Officials and state-aligned experts hailed the event as a ‘breakthrough’ and stressed the GJ-21’s reported reusability and combat radius, but independent technical verification, exact sortie details and trial locations have not been disclosed.
- The tests fit into a broader PLA modernization push to integrate unmanned systems at sea and could extend China’s maritime surveillance and strike options while changing how the navy plans long-range operations and logistics.