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

New Heavyweight Chinese Jet Drone Looks To Be A Swarm Mothership

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2024-11-15 05:30:04

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.

Another surprise: a „AVIC Industry 10-ton "nine-day" jet detection drone“ (just translated) https://t.co/azSWU3P06K

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.

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