A new video circulating online shows what appears to be a Chinese tailless drone flying in formation with a turboprop, offering a rare glimpse at the country’s progress in developing collaborative combat aircraft.
The footage, first circulated at the weekend on China’s social media platform Weibo, reveals the tailless aircraft with a distinctive diamond-shaped delta wing configuration. Accompanying the drone is a Y-8 or Y-9 turboprop-powered transport aircraft, with another similar aircraft trailing separately.
An additional still image, apparently a frame from a separate video featuring the same drone, emerged simultaneously on the social media platform X.
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New Chinese fighter jet seen over Chengdu tacitly confirmed by military
New Chinese fighter jet seen over Chengdu tacitly confirmed by military
While bearing a similar tailless shape to China’s next-generation fighter prototypes – namely the Chengdu J-36 or Shenyang J-50 – the drone’s design differs from and appears smaller than those aircraft.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been actively developing multiple loyal wingman drones and teaming crewed-uncrewed abilities.
While the stealthy GJ-11 combat drone remains central to these efforts, China has unveiled other lower-tier uncrewed designs intended to closely coordinate with crewed aircraft.
