China's first unmanned missile boat ready

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.