(ECNS) -- China's self-developed strike drone Jiutian has completed airframe structural assembly and is currently undergoing system installation and testing. It is expected to make its maiden flight by the end of June.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), capable of reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, and real-time strikes, has a maximum flight altitude of 15,000 meters and a top speed of 700 kilometers per hour. With a wingspan of 25 meters, it boasts a maximum takeoff weight of 16 tons and payload capacity of up to six tons. It is designed with eight underwing pylons, capable of carrying 1,000-kilogram-class guided missiles, loitering munitions, and other weapons.
Military experts said that if equipped with advanced electronic warfare pods, the UAV could even suppress and jam enemy radar systems.
Jiutian adopts an open architecture design, equipped with rapidly interchangeable mission pods. By switching modular payloads, it can reconfigure mission types within two hours to fulfill diverse operational needs.
In particular, its honeycomb modular mission bay, capable of deploying smaller drones, grants it a unique and versatile capacity for saturation missions and swarm strikes. For this reason, Jiutian is called"Airborne drone carrier."
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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