China is readying the world's first giant submarine UAV carrier — built with a 1115ft dock, the unnamed mothership could be longer (and bigger) than WW2 light aircraft carriers and carry 148ft underwater drones

Satellite imagery reveals China constructing what appears to be a massive ship in Shanghai, potentially serving as a mothership for submarine-sized drones. This ship features a bottom-opening well-deck, a 12-arm cradle, and an internal hangar, which experts estimate can accommodate four drones ranging from 115 to 148 feet in length.

Unlike any other naval vessel currently in use, this unique ship is designed to launch, recover, and house uncrewed submarines the size of traditional crewed boats. The ship's construction began on September 13, 2026, at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, and remains under construction without an official name, specifications, or the military branch responsible for its operation.

The dock associated with this ship measures approximately 1,115 feet, while the ship itself is estimated to be around 200 meters long and 30 meters wide. Comparatively, this mothership is slightly smaller than the largest WWII-era fleet carriers but larger than the US Navy's Independence-class light carriers from the same era. The primary purpose of this vessel is to deploy extra-extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles (XXLUUVs), which are essentially large, autonomous submarines with a range of around 10,000 nautical miles.

This development significantly impacts the balance of naval power and could pose a threat to the US and its allies, particularly as territorial disputes in the South China Sea continue to escalate.