China's drone technology showcased during the September 3rd military parade is ten years ahead of the United States.

What level is the Chinese drone shown in the September 3rd military parade? It's already 10 years ahead of the United States!

When the drone formation appeared, the commentary said: "Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drones, unmanned wingman drones, and unmanned air superiority drones..." These are three different types of drone platforms. Among them, the most intelligent and technologically demanding is the unmanned air superiority drone. Because this aircraft is responsible for air combat missions, it often needs to go to the most dangerous and front-line areas, and must be highly intelligent, not relying on "human-in-the-loop" remote control from the back.

Air combat requires completing the entire cycle of target acquisition, identification and judgment, analysis and decision-making, weapon selection, weapon use, and assessment of strike effectiveness within an extremely short time. Moreover, the targets are high-speed, high-maneuverability aerial targets, which are completely different from ground targets that move slowly. In addition, air combat also requires high maneuverability. Therefore, the structure of the unmanned air superiority drone needs to be reinforced to ensure safe high-G maneuvering; it also needs aerodynamic shape and powerful power to ensure speed and flexibility. For tasks with less requirements, such as reconnaissance and ground attack, the ISR drone and the unmanned wingman drone can complete them.

Compared to the United States, the two prototype aircraft in the first phase of the U.S. Air Force's "Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)" program include General Atomics' YFQ-42A and Anduril Industries' YFQ-44A. The former has just completed its first flight, while the latter is about to fly. They have not been put into service yet. However, this "Phase 1" stage only includes unmanned wingman drones—capable of only long-range battlefield reconnaissance and acting as a "flying pylon" (to help manned aircraft carry weapons and conduct ground attacks). The second phase of the "Collaborative Combat Aircraft" program will be the unmanned air superiority drone, which is still on paper in PowerPoint presentations!

The weapons displayed in the September 3rd military parade have already been deployed to our forces. Overall, the actual deployment of the U.S. unmanned air superiority drone to the military may take another 10 years... Kevin Schneider, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, boasted the day before the September 3rd parade that the U.S. Air Force was "not scared by the parade." This statement itself is extremely weak and just stubbornly defiant...

Original source: www.toutiao.com/article/1842231942792192/

Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author.