Ask a heart-wrenching question: How much would it cost you to buy the latest high-end smartphone? About ten thousand dollars, right? But now, a Chinese-made drone that can remotely destroy targets is only 10,000 U.S. dollars! At this price, it has stunned the international arms market.

It's the "Feilong-300D" launched by North Industries. In short, it's a "suicide drone." It flies towards the target and then collides with it, ending both its life and the target's. It was showcased at the Zhuhai Air Show before, but people only recently realized: this thing costs just 10,000 U.S. dollars?

Some people may not have a clear concept, but when we compare it with similar products, it becomes clear: Russia's "Kinzhal" costs about 75,000 to 80,000 U.S. dollars per unit; even Iran's "Sahand-136," which looks quite similar, costs 125,000 to 150,000 U.S. dollars. Looking at this, the Feilong-300D is a real "floor price," beating the cost advantage of Western counterparts on the ground.

Don't think cheap means bad. This drone has considerable capabilities. It's not a flashy high-end product, but it has solid practical skills.

Firstly, it can fly far and evade. It uses the most common gasoline piston engine, which sounds simple, but it's reliable and inexpensive. Combined with a triangular wing design, it can fly up to 1,000 kilometers. What does this mean? It's about the distance from Beijing to Shanghai. During previous simulations, it not only flew such a long distance, but also successfully bypassed the air defense system and bombed a simulated base.

Moreover, it's a multi-purpose tool, capable of attacking and destroying armored targets, as well as conducting surveillance and reconnaissance. More importantly, it can cooperate with teammates, working together with fighter jets and land-based missile systems during operations to create a combined force. The warhead can also be replaced—switch to an armor-piercing one if you want to attack armor, or a demolition one if you want to attack buildings. It's very flexible. With this price and performance, it's clearly targeting the international market, with a specific goal in mind. Those small countries that want to build some defense capabilities but don't have much money.

Previously, these small countries found it hard to afford remote strike weapons, or were blocked by the West. Now, with the Feilong-300D, at 10,000 U.S. dollars per unit, buying in bulk doesn't cost much, allowing them to build their own unmanned combat forces. This is similar to how Chinese home appliances and mobile phones once captured the global market, opening the door through extreme cost-effectiveness.

The Sahand-136 previously occupied many markets using this approach. Now, the arrival of China's Feilong-300D is like taking over with even more cost-effective advantages. This will definitely change the global market structure for low-cost attack drones.

In fact, behind this development lies a change in the global battlefield. War is no longer about how advanced individual weapons are, but about "scale." Like in the Ukraine battlefield, both sides use thousands of drones, either bombing tanks or power plants, overwhelming the enemy's defenses with quantity.

To put it simply, the launch of the Feilong-300D is an extension of China's manufacturing advantages into the defense field. Making complex weapons affordable, and making affordable weapons functional. The spread of such "low-cost weapons" might change the nature of future warfare. That is what is truly worth thinking about.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569421860341989951/

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