Chinese weapon researchers now have good news for nations that aspire to operate a missile-capable navy but cannot afford large, expensive surface ships. They have designed an unmanned missile boat and are ready to sell it.

The robotic missile-carrying boat, Liaowangzhe 2, or Watcher 2, was jointly developed by Oceanalpha, a private company that makes unmanned surface vessels in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, the Xi'an Institute of Modern Control Technology in Shaanxi province and Huazhong Institute of Electro-Optics in Wuhan, Hubei province.

The vessel is first of its kind in China and also only the second in the world to have successfully fired a missile, according to a statement from China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, parent of the Huazhong institute. It did not elaborate on details of the firing test, saying only that it was conducted off the coast in October.

The project also marks the first time that State-owned defense institutes and a private enterprise have joined hands to develop a naval weapon in China, the statement said.

The Israeli-developed Protector unmanned ship fired Spike missiles during a sea test in March 2017.

Liaowangzhe 2 was made public at the 12th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai last week.

The unmanned vessel is 7.5 meters long and 2.7 meters wide, with a displacement of 3.7 metric tons and a maximum speed of 83 kilometers per hour. It can sail more than 570 km in a single operation at a speed of 41 km/h. 

It can operate using preset programs or under remote control. It can carry and launch four anti-ship or land-attack missiles, each with a maximum range of 5 km and guided by an image-aided terminal guidance device, the statement said. 

The craft can be used for patrols around islands and near inshore waters or attacking small or medium-sized ships or land targets. A group of such boats could carry out swarming assaults on large targets, designers said. 

Zhang Yunfei, founder and chairman of Oceanalpha, said the unmanned missile boat can be of great use in naval operations because it features high agility, strong maneuverability, good survivability, operational flexibility and low cost as well as low risk to personnel.

Dozens of State-owned defense contractors, universities, institutes and private enterprises have been involved in the unmanned vessel industry.

In December, Harbin Engineering University in Heilongjiang province and HiSIBI, a Shenzhen-based private firm specializing in high-speed manned boats, announced that they have developed the world's fastest unmanned vessel, which can travel at about 93 km/h at sea, and have put it into mass production.

Globally, the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel have all invested heavily in the development and deployment of unmanned vessels, planning to take advantage of the new platform in naval operations.

Liaowangzhe 2, China's first unmanned missile boat, is shown last week at the Zhuhai airshow in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. [Photo/VCG]