China Unveils Game-Changing First Drone ‘Mothership'
China's new drone "mothership" is set to take flight, according to the country's state broadcaster, which touted the aircraft as a game changer in drone warfare.
Observers, however, have noted key vulnerabilities and said the behemoth, teased at China's flagship air show in November, amounts to "propaganda."
Newsweek contacted the Pentagon for comment by email.
The People's Liberation Army continues its rapid buildup, with an eye to supplanting the U.S. as the leading military power in the Asia-Pacific. Its warship count now exceeds the U.S. Navy's, and it possesses growing anti-access/area-denial capabilities, such as its vast missile fleet.
China has also been investing heavily in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and swarm technologies in a bid to achieve air superiority in a wartime scenario-for instance, an invasion of Beijing-claimed Taiwan.
Built by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the Jiu Tian drone has a wingspan of 82 feet and runs on a turbofan engine, China Central Television said in a Saturday broadcast.
It has a maximum range of 4,350 miles and a 15-kilometer (9.3 miles) ceiling, and it can exceed 435 miles per hour.
What sets the aircraft apart is its ability to launch smaller drones mid-flight from both sides of its fuselage.
With a maximum payload of six tons, it can carry up to 100 small UAVs, including loitering drones-shown in a computer-animated promotional video pouring out of the plane like bees from a hive.
In addition to swarm-launching, the drone can be armed with a mix of air-to-air, anti-ship and air-to-ground missiles, as well as 1,000-kilogram (about 2,200-pound) guided bombs.
The Jiu Tian is also built for modularity. Its payloads can be swapped out in under two hours, depending on the mission-electronic warfare, strike and support, emergency rescue-making it suitable for a range of civilian and military roles.
It can also serve as a communications relay for the smaller drones it launches, allowing remote operators to control them from behind the front lines using a man-in-the-loop system. That could let short-range drones operate well beyond their typical limits.
Still, the drone carrier's size presents a tempting target for modern air defense systems, meaning it would likely need to rely on air suppression support.
Additionally, even at its stated maximum altitude, the drone would be well within the range of several modern air-defense systems, including the U.S.'s THAAD and Patriot PAC-3, Taiwan's Sky Bow III, Japan's Aegis BMD, and South Korea's KM-SAM Block II.
User @MCCCANM, a self-described former U.S. Air Force instructor with 30,000 followers, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "I'm not a fighter pilot, but this is like trying to sneak into near-peer enemy airspace with a formation of KC-10s [retired tanker and cargo aircraft]. It's not remotely survivable...a gigantic missile magnet. This is just classic propaganda."
The "mothership" will conduct its first test flight at the end of June, CCTV reported.
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