Unmanned helicopter appears on China's Type 075 ship

The rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was unveiled during China's September 2025 parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. (AFP via Getty Images)

A new rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that China unveiled in 2025 has been seen aboard a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 075 Yushen-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) in recently released state-owned video footage.

Known as the ‘Ship-Borne Unmanned Helicopter' in state-owned media, the aircraft briefly appeared in a China Central Television (CCTV) special programme on the Type 075-class vessel, which aired on 12 March 2026. Earlier frames from the segment suggest that the UAV was deployed aboard the Hubei (34), the fourth vessel of the Yushen class, which was commissioned in August 2025.

The UAV is based on Aviation Industry Corporation of China's (AVIC's) AR-2000 rotary-wing UAV concept, previously under development by China's No 602 Institute for the PLAN. The UAV is equipped with an electro-optic (EO) turret and synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

The aircraft (which Chinese military observers have tentatively designated as the WZ-2) is also equipped with electronic support measures (ESM) sensors on the sides. A downward-facing antenna, associated with a Ku-band datalink terminal, appears under the tailboom. The aircraft also has six communications intelligence (COMINT) antennas.

In the video footage, the UAV appears briefly, parked on the starboard side of the Type 075 vessel, near the stern, over a unique Ship Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL) symbol comprising a double-concentric circle with an intersecting triangle. Such a symbol does not appear elsewhere on the vessel. The number ‘7' is painted outside the circle, confirming that it is the seventh launch and recovery location for rotary-wing platforms.