China develops high-speed unmanned sea vessel

BEIJING - China has developed a high-speed, unmanned sea vessel which can be used for a host of applications including submarine detection.

According to state-run daily people’s liberation army (PLA), the 10.25-meter-long "SeaFly-01" vessel completed a test at Nanhu Lake in Wuhan on October 27.

This intelligent vessel has a maximum speed of 45 knots.

This was built with carbon fibre material and is equipped with BeiDou communication navigation technology, it said.

As per the report, it is able to "learn" independently and avoid obstacles, among other functions.

The vessel is able to carry a photoelectric scout device, light weapons, sonar and other equipment, and can be applied in a broad scope of applications including coastal patrol, armed confrontation, submarine detection and water-quality monitoring, it stated.