Role & capabilities
- Maritime surveillance
- Modular mission equipment
- Primary domain
- Sea surface
- System type
- Uncrewed surface vessel
- Developer / manufacturer
- CSSC / 716 Research Institute-led team
- Origin / production countries
- China
- Other names
- JARI USV A; Hu Jing; 虎鲸号; Orca USV
- Variants / configurations
- Not distinguished in reviewed sources
- Operators / programme customers
- Not identified in reviewed sources
Evidence & current status
Public programme evidence establishes the stated maturity only; unreported numerical data remain unknown.
JARI-USV-A, also called Orca or Hu Jing, is the large surface vessel that China's shipbuilding group presented at Airshow China in November 2024. CSSC identifies its 716 Research Institute as leading the development team and publishes a substantially larger hull baseline than the earlier small JARI craft.
The manufacturer positions the vessel as a modular naval platform with several potential mission roles. Public debut confirms the existence of the programme and the configuration presented, but it does not settle naval acceptance, fleet size, production rate or the qualification state of individual payloads. The status here therefore remains supplier-reported rather than implying an operational fleet.
Its published length and displacement place it in a very different handling and support category from small patrol USVs. The stated long-range capability is an advertised vessel figure, with the reviewed announcement not providing a full payload, speed and environmental test condition. JARI-USV-A is also unrelated to Boeing's Orca underwater programme: both the country and the operating domain differ. Keeping those distinctions explicit prevents misleading search results and invalid specification comparisons.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Large uncrewed surface-vessel programme | Published configuration baseline; not independently demonstrated at every loading and sea condition. Source ↗ |
| Hull / propulsion | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 58 m length; 23 m moulded breadth; 4 m moulded depth | Moulded depth is not draft. Source ↗ |
| Displacement / mass | 500-tonne class | Published configuration baseline; not independently demonstrated at every loading and sea condition. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Range | More than 4,000 nautical miles advertised | Payload, speed and trial conditions not disclosed in the announcement. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sea state / environment | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Communications / control | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Launch / deployment | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
CSSC publishes debut details
CSSC identified the development lead and large-vessel dimensions following the Airshow China presentation.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added in the September 2026 global coverage review, with sources, configuration limits and explicit data gaps.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.