Is China poised to lead the world with combat-ready ‘loyal wingman' FH-97 stealth drone?
September's Victory Day parade in Beijing, rehearsal images circulating online suggest.
Advertisement
The FH-97, a single-engine, ground-attack uncrewed aircraft, has been described as potentially China's first combat-ready stealth drone, capable of coordinated aerial warfare alongside crewed jets.
Photos leaked online over the weekend appeared to show an FH-97 takng part in the rehearsals for the massive military parade on September 3, which will commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender and the end of World War II.
The official debut of the model would make China the first country to have such a drone – dubbed a 'loyal wingman' in crewed-uncrewed team-up warfare – ready for combat.
The parade's second full rehearsal was held from Saturday evening into Sunday morning near Tiananmen Square, involving around 40,000 personnel.
Advertisement
Although the aircraft was covered and mounted on a military truck, enough design features were revealed to suggest it was the FH-97, or Feihong-97, developed by a subsidiary of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (AVIC).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Poland calls drone crash in the country's east a Russian provocation amid peace talks
Poland's defence minister said a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland early on Wednesday was identified as a Russian drone, calling it a provocation by Russia. At a news conference in Warsaw, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defence minister, accused Russia of provoking Nato during a crucial moment, as peace talks over the war in neighbouring Ukraine are under way, the country's news agency PAP reported. 'Russia is provoking us once again,' Kosiniak-Kamysz said, just as peace talks have given hope that the war 'has a chance of ending'. Police said they received reports of the crash at around 2am and found burned metal and plastic debris at the scene, near the village of Osiny. The blast broke windows in some nearby houses, but no one was injured, PAP reported. Poland's Armed Forces Operational Command said on Wednesday on social media that no violations of Polish airspace from neighbouring Ukraine or Belarus were recorded overnight. Officials initially said the explosion may have been caused by a part of an old engine with a propeller. Lublin District Prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz told reporters several investigators – both civilian and military – were examining the crash site.
HKFP
2 hours ago
- HKFP
Tycoon Jimmy Lai did not ask activists to halt sanctions push after nat. sec law enacted, prosecutor says
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai did not ask activists and foreign politicians to stop calling for sanctions even after Beijing's national security law in the city was passed, a prosecutor has said. Continuing to deliver closing arguments in Lai's national security trial, lead prosecutor Anthony Chau accused the founder of pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily of being the 'mastermind' in an alleged foreign collusion plot against the city's authorities. The prosecution said Lai himself admitted his commitment to lobbying for sanctions was 'unwavering,' even if he risked breaking the national security law by doing so. Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest, criminalising subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The tycoon stands accused of two charges of conspiring to commit foreign collusion under the Beijing-imposed security law, and another charge of conspiring to publish seditious materials under colonial-era legislation. He faces life behind bars if convicted. Collaborators Chau on Wednesday said that even after Beijing's national security law in the city was passed, Lai did not stop his alleged collaborators, including members of the overseas activist group Stand With Hong Kong (SWHK), and the foreign politicians group the Interparliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), from continuing to lobby for sanctions. The prosecution cited open letters, articles, and social media posts from SWHK calling on foreign governments, including those of the UK, the Czech Republic, Ireland, and Portugal, to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Beijing officials, and urging support for the 'people of Hong Kong.' A focal point of Lai's trial was his ties to two activists linked to SWHK, Chan Tsz-wah, or Wayland, and Andy Li, both of whom were charged alongside the tycoon and have testified against him. Citing Chan's testimony, Chau also said that Lai had 'never' told the activist there was any change in his stance on lobbying for sanctions, even after the enactment of the law. Chau also pointed to a meeting weeks before the national security law was enacted in which Lai encouraged Chan to press on with lobbying efforts, saying the security legislation was 'more bark than bite.' Lobbying groups SWHK and IPAC, indeed, continued their efforts after the national security law took effect, the court heard. 'Lai knew exactly what IPAC was doing at the time,' Chau said, citing updates that Lai received about the international parliamentary group in the weeks after the law was enacted, as well as the tycoon's own social media activity. The prosecution also argued that Lai maintained ties with retired US army general Jack Keane, ex-US deputy secretary of defence Paul Wolfowitz, and US state department advisor Christian Whiton after the security law came into effect. Lai had admitted trying to inform foreign governments about Hong Kong's situation and appealing to them to condemn the city's authorities, Chau said. But he also argued that Lai went further than what he admitted. The tycoon sought to demonstrate to Hongkongers, through meetings with the former US officials, that 'foreign governments had not abandoned them,' Chau said. Chau also said that the Apple Daily founder used the paper as a platform to urge sanctions on Beijing, a clear betrayal of national interests and security. He added that Lai's description of the paper as both 'anti-communist' and a 'neutral defender of Hong Kong's core values' were conflicting.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump tariffs spark India-China reset, Chinese city's biotech dream: SCMP daily highlights
Catch up on some of SCMP's biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing The world's two most-populous countries made significant progress on the diplomatic front recently, and those championing such moves may have Washington to thank. South China's Guangdong province has announced its ambition to join the country's race to expand its commercial space sector, promising financial and policy support for companies wanting to build low-orbit satellite constellation systems and promote their application in futuristic industries including space mining and space tourism. Ilustration: Brian Wang Could a city best known for its classical gardens and ancient canals emerge as China's answer to Boston – the global epicentre of biotechnology innovation?
