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Flying taxis, airships and drones: the rise of China’s low-altitude economy
Flying taxis, airships and drones: the rise of China’s low-altitude economy
The flight signified a “breakthrough in China’s large drone technology”, the report said.
The Jiu Tian made its debut at China’s premier Zhuhai air show in November last year. It can reportedly carry up to 100 loitering munitions or small drones, including kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). These can be deployed from both sides of the aircraft’s fuselage, extending its operational range.
It can also carry a range of payloads on eight hardpoints and is capable of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assignments, as well as electronic warfare.
Chinese military commentator and former PLA instructor Song Zhongping said this feature confirmed that the military-civilian dual-use aircraft would be a “drone carrier”, enabling it to execute “swarm attacks” that an adversary’s air defence system would be “unable to defend against”.
