Pages

Saturday, November 23, 2013

China tests first stealth combat drone


China has tested its first stealth combat drone, state media said Friday, citing online photos of an aircraft resembling a shrunken US B2 bomber and hailing the advance toward Western-level technology.

The test flight of the “Sharp Sword” unmanned aircraft is another step in China’s years-long military build-up, with its defence spending now the second highest in the world and growing by double-digit percentages each year.

It comes weeks after Tokyo said a drone had flown near East China Sea islands claimed by both it and Beijing, ratcheting tensions between the rivals up another notch.

“The successful flight shows the nation has again narrowed the air-power disparity between itself and Western nations,” the China Daily newspaper said, adding the flight made China the “fourth power… capable of putting a stealth drone into the sky”.


Images posted online showed a sleek grey delta-wing aircraft apparently powered by a jet engine and resembling an American combat drone.

Beijing is steadily building its military muscle and unveiled its first stealth fighter, the J-20, in early 2011, though it is not expected to enter service until 2018.

China’s first aircraft carrier — refurbished vessel purchased from Ukraine and named the Liaoning — went into service in Sept 2012, but is not expected to be fully operational for several years.

The Sharp Sword might be intended for eventual use with the aircraft carrier and for “long endurance” surveillance missions, said Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the US-based think tank International Assessment and Strategy Center.

“This demonstrates the enormous investment that China is making toward building a world class level of military power,” he said in an email. This type of aircraft “will greatly complicate the defence” of other countries, including Japan and the US, he added.

A drone was at the centre of a recent spat between Beijing and Tokyo, whose dispute over islands known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese has raised concerns of conflict. An unidentified unmanned aircraft flew near the islands in September, where China routinely conducts maritime patrols, prompting Japan to scramble fighter jets.

The aircraft came from the northwest and returned in that direction, a Japanese defence official said.
Tokyo later threatened to shoot down any such aircraft, a move that Beijing warned would amount to an “act of war”.

Chinese state media widely reported the new aircraft in close detail, although they said the test-flight was first revealed by ordinary Internet users on a popular military web forum cjdby.net. Chinese authorities quickly censor any news or images exposed online by citizens that they deem sensitive, so it is unlikely they did not approve the reports.


State broadcaster CCTV, citing eyewitnesses, said on its international channel that the test flight lasted 20 minutes on Thursday afternoon in the southwestern city of Chengdu. The flight “implies that China has made the leap from drones to combat drones”, it said, calling it the move of “major significance”.

Hong Kong-based military expert Andrei Chang said that by producing a heavy combat drone China had achieved a milestone claimed by few countries, but added that the aircraft’s design appeared “a little bit naive”.

Unlike the American version, the engine appeared to be exposed, which would reduce its stealth capabilities, said Chang, editor of the Kanwa Defence Review Monthly, adding that China did not have “enough experience” in the field.

The aircraft was developed by two subsidiaries of Aviation Industry Corp of China, the country’s top aircraft manufacturer, the China Daily said.

Tags

0104 2A5 2A6 2A7 MBT 767-2C 8Cs A10 A400M acquisition acrobatic Afghan Air Force Afghanistan Afghanistan's Africa AgustaWestland Air Force Air Show airlift Airlines Al-Shabaab Militants Alenia Altius UCAV amphibious AMX Analysis Angola Anti-Ship Missile Useful antiaircraft Antonov Apache APP Argentine Asia-Pacific ASTOR ATC Attack AU-1 AU-2 Australia Australian Army Training B1 B52 BAE BAE Systems Baltic Bangladesh base Belarus Belgium Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited BHEL BMP-1P Boeing Boeing-Vertol 107 Bolivia Bomber Book books border dispute Brazil Brazil's Brazilian Brazilian Air Force's BRD-4 Brunei budget Bulgarian C-130 C-130J Super Hercules C-130s C-130T C-27J C-802 C212 CAF Canada Capabilities Caravan Cargo CAS CASA Celebration CH-53E CH-53K Challenges China China Navy Chinese Chinese New Z-19 clone CMID COIN Cold War Colombia Colombian communicaions conflict controversy Crash CSIST Curiosities Cyprus Czech Czech Ministry of Defence D-20 Guns DAPA Dassault deal Defence Defence Products Denmark Department of Defense development DoD DoD's dogfight DPP DRDO Drone E-3F EADS EBRC ECM Editorial Egypt Egypt Orders Rafale Fighter Aircraft. Embraer engine espionage Estonia Eurofighter Europe exercise F-16 F-16C/D F-16s F-35 F-35A F-35C F-5E F-5E's F-5s F/A-18 F15 F16 F2 F22 F35 F4 F5 FA-50 FAE fake fake Chinese parts Falklands FAP FC-1 FC-20 FFX Fighter fighter-bomber Fire Scout France French French Army French Defence French Navy's Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana future G-20 German Army Germany GoPro Greece Trials Gripen grounding Guerrilla Halwara air bases Hawk Helicopter History humor Hungrya Hurkus IAF IAI ICBM IFV Il-76MD-90A (Il-476) Ilyushin image IN India India's India's Ministry of Defence India’s new Defence Minister Indian Indian Navy Indian Navy's Indigenous Indonesia Indonesia. Iran Iran's Iraq Iraqi Government Iraqi Ministry of Defence Iraqi Shia militias IRIAF IRIAF's IRST ISF Islamic State Island ISR Israel Israel Aerospace Industries Israel's Israeli Defense Forces Italy J-10 J-10B J-20 J-31 J10 J11 J15 J16 J20 J31 Japan Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Japan Ministry of Defence Japan's JAS 39E JASSM Jeddah Port JF-17 JF17 JH-7 jobs Judicial KAI KC-135 KC-46A KC390 KC46 Kenya's Coast Kfir KH-31 KH-35U KMW KMW's Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile korea KV-2 L-39 Lavi Law Liberation Army Navy Líbero Badaró Libya Libya's Lift litigation Lockheed Lockheed Martin Unveils Legion IRST Pod. London Navy M-346 M346 maintain Malaysia Malaysian government Maneuvers MBT Mi-24 Mi-24V Mi-35Ms Mi-35Ps Mi-8 Middle East Mig Mig-29K MIG-31 Military Military Helicopters Designs Minister for Defence Ministry of Defence Minsk Mirage Missile Mitsubishi MMRCA MND MoD modifications Moscow MPR MQ-8B MQ-8C Nanji NAO NATO NATO's NAVAIR Naval Aviation negotiations Nepal Nevada new capability new generation Next Genration of Mobility Niger Nigerian Air Force North Korea Northrop Northrop Grumman Norway NRP Obama's OBOGS OGMA Oman Defence organisational Oshkosh Defense Ouargla PAF PAK DA Aircraft’s PAK FA PAK-FA Pakistan Pakistan Army Pakistan Navy's Pantsir Paris patrol PBL People's Liberation Army PGG 618 Philippines PK PLA PLAAF PLAN PLANAF Poland Polish Army Polish Ministry of Defence Popras SAM Portugal Portuguese Navy preemptive strike ProAn-70 pproduction Production PT PAL's PzH 2000 QF-16 R-73 R-77 RAAF RAAF's RAF Rafale Red Arrows refueling repair replacement Republic of China Army requirements retired Rocket Launcher RoKN RoKN's Romain Rooivalk Royal Malaysian Navy's Royal Navy Royal Navy latest Spearfish Torpedo Royal Norwegian Army Royal Thai Navy RR RTAF RTD rumor Russia Russia New Military Russia's Russia's New Military Nuclear Strike Russian Russian Air Force Russian Air Force's Russian Army Russian Mi-28 Russian military Russian Ministry of Defence Russian Navy's Russian RD-93 S-26T SA-6 Saab SAAF Sales São Paulo SAR SAS Saudi Arabia Scorpion Separatists Serbia Serbia's Military Shia militant group SIFICAP Simulator Singapore SisCaPED Slovakia Software South African soyuz space Spain SR-71 SR71 Strike aircraft Su-34 SU-35 SU-35 Aircraft SU27 Su30 Su35 Submarine Sudan Sukhoi summary Support Switzerland Syria Syrian Atomic Energy Commission T-346A T-X tactics Taiwan Taiwan's Tanker Technology Tejas Textron The Berlin Air Show leatest Tor-M2U Tornado TOT Trainer Training Turkey Type 071 LPDs U.S. Navy UAC's UAE UAV UAV technology UCAV UK UK defence UK Ministry of Defence UK-based UK's UKIS Ukraine Ukrainian Ukrainian Separatists United Arab Emirates United Kingdom upgrade US US Air Force US Air Force's US Army US Department of Defense US forces US government US Marine Corps US Marine Corps F-35C US Navy US Navy's US-2i USA USAF USAF Contemplates A-10. USAF's USD USMC USN USN's USS V-22 V-22 Gunship VBMR Venezuela video Vietnam VTOL VVS Washington Weapons Western X-47B Xavier de Toledo Y20 Yak-130 Yak-152 Yemen Yemeni Air Force Z-18 Z-19 Zhuhai Air show Zhuhai Air Show 2014 ZU-23-2 ZU-23-2 Armed BMP-1P