INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
unveiled for the first time a conceptual design model of a new drone carrier called HCX-23 Plus.Compared with the Turkish Anadolu drone
solution designed entirely based on the needs of advanced drone maritime operations, and it adopts many unconventional designs
It can be said that it represents to a certain extent the new trend in the development of future aircraft carriers, especially drone
carriers.The double-deck design is the biggest feature of the new drone carrier HCX-23 Plus.
Fully Meet the New Positioning of Unmanned
light aircraft carrier and an amphibious assault ship
It was only because of the deterioration of relations between Turkey and the United States that the former could no longer purchase F-35B
fighter/attack aircraft and various types of manned carrier-based helicopters
The author even believes that the former has opened a new era for the development of drone carriers in the world
The design positioning of the HCX-23 Plus drone carrier no longer considers the carrying and combat use requirements of manned carrier-based
aircraft, but only considers the needs of unmanned carrier-based aircraft
Therefore, the HCX-23 Plus only carries unmanned carrier-based aircraft, no longer manned carrier-based aircraft, and therefore no longer
It is a very pure drone carrier.In addition to aircraft carriers, the new drone carrier HCX-23 Plus also carries unmanned boats and unmanned
It can be considered a multi-purpose unmanned combat ship with aviation as its main function.The biggest advantage of this is that it can
significantly reduce the size and displacement of the drone carrier
For example, the design displacement of the HCX-23 Plus drone carrier is only 15,000 tons
However, since the ship layout, especially the hangar layout, can be designed completely according to the size and carrying requirements of
displacement of 27,000 tons, and even more than medium-sized aircraft carriers with larger tonnage
This is the biggest advantage of design optimization.In addition, from the model of the HCX-23 Plus drone carrier released by Hyundai Heavy
Industries of South Korea, it can be seen that there is a large tail hatch at the stern of the ship
According to the information released by Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea, in addition to carrying a large number of drones to
perform air combat missions, the HCX-23 Plus can also carry a variety of unmanned boats and unmanned submarines inside its hull, which can
be delivered and recovered through the small dock at the stern and the tail hatch
This makes the HCX-23 Plus a comprehensive platform for carrying and combating unmanned equipment at sea, forming a three-dimensional
unmanned combat system in the air, on the surface, and underwater, and used in coordination with other surface warships and submarines,
which is contrary to tradition.In fact, many aircraft carriers modified or newly designed by the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan
and other countries in the early 20th century did not have an island installed
This was because the tonnage and size of these early aircraft carriers were small, resulting in insufficient width of the flight deck
Later, with the increasing tonnage and size of aircraft carriers, the further optimization of the island design, and the urgent need for
aircraft carrier combat command, the island became an essential design for aircraft carriers.The reason why the HCX-23 Plus drone carrier
cancels the island is mainly due to several factors
First, with the rapid development of drone technology, the take-off, landing and deck/hangar scheduling of unmanned carrier-based aircraft
can be fully automated and unmanned to a large extent
Therefore, the aviation command and deck scheduling functions of the traditional aircraft carrier island can be completely cancelled
This is also one of the reasons why the HCX-23 Plus drone carrier can even cancel the optical landing system, which is a must-have equipment
for traditional aircraft carriers.Some early aircraft carriers were not equipped with islandsSecondly, the elimination of the island can
greatly improve the stealth capability of the HCX-23 Plus UAV carrier
In fact, no matter how the traditional aircraft carrier island is reduced in size and volume, or how the multi-faceted stealth shape is
adopted, it is protruding above the deck after all, and has the largest radar reflection cross-section
Then, after the elimination of the island, the HCX-23 Plus UAV carrier will set the navigation bridge in the middle of the upper and lower
flight decks, and the side of the hull adopts a further optimized inward tilt and polyhedron design, which can greatly reduce the overall
radar reflection characteristics of the entire ship and achieve the most outstanding stealth performance.The double-deck flight deck of the
HCX-23 Plus drone carrier is also very distinctive
Its upper flight deck is mainly used for the landing of unmanned carrier-based aircraft, so it is equipped with a large elevator and two
After the unmanned carrier-based aircraft lands, it can descend to the lower deck through the elevator at the rear of the upper flight deck
The lower deck is divided into two parts, the rear is a fully enclosed hangar, and the front is a take-off deck equipped with a short-range
There is also a lifting flame shield at the take-off point, which stands up when the jet unmanned carrier-based aircraft takes off to
prevent the high-temperature exhaust gas of the jet engine from blowing directly into the hangar.In addition, there is a control room for
ejection commanders on the right side of the catapult, where personnel can observe the ejection of unmanned carrier-based aircraft at any
time through the porthole protruding above the deck
If the unmanned carrier-based aircraft fails to land, it will rush out of the side and fall into the sea instead of hitting the lower
In addition to the upper and lower flight decks for fixed-wing unmanned carrier-based aircraft to take off and land, the HCX-23 Plus
unmanned aircraft carrier also has a small sunken take-off and landing deck designed at the stern for vertical take-off and landing unmanned
carrier-based aircraft.Double or even triple flight decks were also one of the designs adopted by many early aircraft carriers, such as the
Japanese Akagi and Kaga, and the British Furious, Courageous, and Glorious
However, this design was soon abandoned by subsequent newly designed aircraft carriers.South Korea has adjusted its aircraft carrier plan
and may develop a drone carrier in the future
The HCX-23 is designed to have a displacement of more than 6,000 tons
A high-energy laser weapon is installed on the main gun position, with a 48-unit vertical launch system at the rear
There are two take-off and landing flight decks, one large and one small, at the rear of the hull, which are used for small vertical
take-off and landing unmanned carrier-based aircraft and medium-sized unmanned carrier-based aircraft respectively
Judging from the size of the hangar, the HCX-23 stealth frigate can only carry drones, but not traditional manned ship-borne helicopters
Similar to the HCX-23 Plus, the HCX-23 stealth frigate can also carry and retract unmanned boats and unmanned submarines.Regardless of the
realization capability, South Korean military enterprises always come up with some incredible new generation weapon equipment design schemes
Then, judging from the new generation warship design schemes based on unmanned equipment displayed at the MADEX2025 International Maritime
Its main trends include: the overall tonnage is controlled within 6,000 tons to 15,000 tons, the full stealth design is adopted, the design
is completely centered on the combat use requirements of the unmanned system, and the unmanned combat system that realizes air-sea
In traditional ship formations and aircraft carrier battle groups, only a few such unmanned combat system delivery ships are needed to
greatly enhance the combat capability of the entire fleet.Source: Phoenix New Media
