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| Sneak preview of three Chinese things to be on display at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow | |
| 2024-11-09 | |
New Heavyweight Chinese Jet Drone Looks To Be A Swarm Mothership The jet-powered Jiu Tian, which has its own surveillance and attack capabilities, is another intriguing addition to China's rapidly expanding stable of drones. A new very large jet-powered Chinese drone said to have a 10-ton maximum takeoff weight, or a mockup thereof, has emerged ahead of the formal opening of this year’s Zhuhai Airshow. The design notably appears to be at least depicted as being fitted with a modular payload section designed to launch swarms of smaller uncrewed aerial systems. Reportedly dubbed Jiu Tian, or “High Sky” in Chinese, the new jet drone design comes from the state-run Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The example at Zhuhai, which officially opens next week, is also marked “SS-UAV” in Latin script. While “UAV” (uncrewed aerial vehicle) seems obvious, it is unclear what the “SS” might stand for. The Jiu Tian has a high main wing with minimal, if any sweep and small winglets at the tips, along with an h-shaped tail. The design is powered by a single jet engine on top of its central fuselage and has a tricycle landing gear arrangement. The combination of features gives the drone, in some very broad strokes, the outward visual appearance of something of a mashup of the A-10 Warthog and OV-10 Bronco attack aircraft. A sensor turret of the kind typically fitted with a mix of electro-optical and infrared cameras is mounted under the Jiu Tian’s nose. The drone also has a nose radome pointing to provisions for a radar inside. As noted, there are reports that the Jiu Tian has a maximum takeoff weight of around 10 tons. For comparison, the CH-6 armed drone that emerged at Zhuhai in 2021, another relatively large jet-powered design, is said to have a maximum takeoff weight of 7.8 tons. A year later, AVIC’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) subsidiary also rolled out a new Wing Loong 3 pusher-propeller-driven armed drone, the largest member of the Wing Loong family to date, with a stated maximum takeoff weight of six tons. As another reference point, the stated maximum takeoff weight of newer extended-range versions of the U.S. MQ-9 Reaper is just under six tons. Massive Chinese Anti-Drone High-Power Microwave Weapon Emerges China's directed energy counter-drone efforts are building steam with multiple high-power microwave systems featured at this year's Zhuhai Airshow. A huge truck-mounted system is one of at least three large mobile ground-based high-power microwave directed energy weapons, primarily intended to down drones, at this year’s Zhuhai Airshow. This underscores a global explosion of demand for counter-drone capabilities, as well as China’s steady progress in the development, fielding, and exporting of microwave and laser directed energy weapons. Officially known as the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, the Zhuhai Airshow also provides an opportunity for Chinese and foreign companies to showcase ground-based and maritime offerings. Pictures and videos of various aircraft and other systems have been steadily emerging ahead of the event’s formal opening next week. The imagery that has appeared online already amid the Zhuhai preparations includes a promotional video from state-run firms China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC) and Norinco that features footage of two high-power microwave directed energy weapons, as well as other air defense systems. The first of these is a microwave system consisting of a large planar array mounted on top of an 8×8 light armored vehicle chassis. The system also has small rotating radar, which would make sense for target detection and tracking purposes. The underlying vehicle looks to be the same one used in the Type 625E self-propelled short-range air defense system, or a variant or derivative thereof, another CSGC/Norinco offering also seen in the promotional video. The CSGC/Norinco video also shows an even larger microwave system, again including a planar array and radar, but this time installed on a Shacman SX2400/2500-series 8×8 truck. This design is seen at the top of this story and below in its traveling configuration. Pictures of a third high-power microwave directed energy weapon system, which is also mounted on a Shacman SX2400/2500-series truck, have also emerged. This system has its microwave array on a different style of articulating mount at the rear of the vehicle, as well as what looks to be a radar inside a dome on an extendable mast toward the cab end. China's J-35A Stealth Fighter Officially Breaks Cover The J-35A's development has been a meandering one but now it's clear China's Air Force has interest and export possibilities are significant. China has publicly unveiled the Shenyang J-35A, a land-based stealth fighter that has been under development for some time but which had previously only been seen in unofficial and frequently poor-quality imagery. While we now have a good look at the aircraft, many questions remain, especially about the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) plans for it, since the base design was previously understood to be under development primarily for export and latterly also for carrier-based service with the PLA Navy. The first official photo of the J-35A was released today, ahead of its planned debut at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, better known as Airshow China, held at Zhuhai Airport in Guangdong province, in southern China. The show opens on November 12. The front three-quarter view of the jet, seen taxiing, reveals several new details and sheds more light on features that were previously more hidden. It also provides a very useful comparison with earlier versions of the J-35 and FC-31, as well as with rival fifth-generation fighters. Much has been made of the similarities between the J-35/FC-31 and the U.S.-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, fueling claims that China copied its American counterpart or at least that it made use of stolen data to directly inform the aircraft’s development. While there is no doubt that China has obtained classified data on a range of sensitive Western military programs, and the F-35 program in particular, it doesn’t mean the jet was ‘copied.’ In fact, China cannot ‘copy’ the F-35, it is one of the world’s most complex machines. It can emulate its overall design and knock-off components and certain technologies that it can reproduce and has the data to do so, but the idea that it is a direct copy is blatantly false and a common trope when it comes to comparing foreign military hardware with U.S. designs. Critical outright differences exist, including its twin-engines compared to the F-35’s large single turbofan engine. While the F-35 was designed from the start to accommodate a short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) version, this requirement is absent from the Chinese design. There are clearly many elements that were at least heavily inspired if not cribbed from the F-35, including its DSI inlets, canopy, and basic configuration. Even its official designation isn’t trying to hide that reality. But overall, despite key similarities, the Chinese design is sleeker and more slender than the F-35. This is largely in part thanks to not having a STOVL requirement, but it also raises questions about its internal fuel capacity and its range, as well as the available volume for internal stores. Above all else, just because a fighter looks similar doesn’t mean it performs anywhere near the same. This is particularly true when it comes to what lays on and under the aircraft’s skin — especially in terms of avionics and data fusion, sensor technology, and low observable (stealth) structures and coatings. The available engine technology is also a major factor. | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |