A despairing message for the US military, China's JIUTIAN drone is about to make its first flight. The dual combination of an unmanned bomber and an unmanned mothership is coming. From the global attention it garnered when it was first unveiled at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow to now, as the No. 04 aircraft completes system integration and enters the test flight countdown, every step forward in the development of the "JIUTIAN" drone has set the nerves of the international military community on edge.
This is because it is considered a superweapon that could revolutionize modern warfare.
The data for the JIUTIAN drone is terrifying. Its maximum takeoff weight is 16 tons, with a maximum payload of 6 tons. The US military's Reaper drone has only a 1.5-ton payload, India's Tejas fighter jet has a maximum bomb load of only 3.5 tons, and the F-16 fighter jet has a bomb load of only 7.7 tons. Even more astonishing is its strategic range and loitering capability. Equipped with a turbofan engine, the "JIUTIAN" has a maximum range of 7,000 kilometers. Combined with missile range, it can cover US military bases in Guam. A 12-hour loitering time, combined with multiple sorties, can achieve all-weather battlefield strikes.
Therefore, although JIUTIAN is considered the largest "integrated reconnaissance and strike" drone in the world, it is closer to an unmanned bomber. It has eight external hardpoints, capable of carrying long-range air-to-ground missiles, anti-ship missiles, air-to-air missiles, hypersonic missiles, and so on. What's even more impressive is that it can act as an unmanned mothership, releasing swarms of drones. Its fuselage can be modularly equipped with "heterogeneous hive mission modules." This modular compartment can accommodate 120-150 micro-drones or loitering munitions, forming a semi-autonomous combat network through AI autonomous coordination and datalink control. When the "JIUTIAN" releases the swarm outside the defended area, these micro-devices can perform reconnaissance, interference, saturation attacks, and other missions.
In other words, it can use "swarm tactics" to disable enemy air defense systems and then launch missiles to eliminate them. In fact, the tactic of using drones for attrition and missiles for destruction has been fully validated in Ukraine-Russia and Red Sea conflicts. However, such a dual-purpose equipment is the world's first. What are the benefits? It leaves no breathing room for the enemy, achieving seamless衔接.
No wonder the H-20 hasn't come out yet. With this technology, even the US military's stealth bombers cannot achieve this effect. Moreover, it is cost-effective, and if destroyed, it won't be regretted.
The US military can easily imagine how devastating this drone would be on the battlefield. Besides being able to conduct deep strikes, it can also carry air-to-air missiles to the front lines, targeting US military bases in Guam. At an altitude of 15,000 meters, it is very difficult for radar to detect it. Furthermore, the "JIUTIAN" is not an isolated combat platform but a key component of China's aerospace strike network. It is equipped with a satellite communication module and is real-time linked with the Beidou system, receiving battlefield data from the KJ-500 early warning aircraft and shore-based radars. It also serves as the command center for the swarm network, coordinating operations between drone swarms and manned aircraft.
With our shore-based radar support, US aircraft based in Guam will be destroyed as soon as they take off. Even without shore-based radar, China has the world's first anti-stealth unmanned early warning aircraft, with 25,000-meter early warning and command capabilities. Another one is responsible for firepower delivery. Judging from the situation in the Indo-Pakistani air war, the likelihood of US aircraft leaving the island may not be high.
Because of China's production capacity, hundreds of these can be built effortlessly. You don't need much; just a formation of 100 drones, what kind of fire density is that? It's undefendable. They carry air-to-air missiles, anti-radiation missiles, tactical ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and small drone swarms. The US military simply has no way to counter them. This is high-dimensional technological suppression.
Moreover, it can be used as a mobile arsenal on the battlefield, capable of carrying a large number of loitering munitions to support battlefield infantry units at any time. After all, the best way to deal with many enemy temporary firing points is with loitering munitions.
However, on the battlefield, when you discover enemy firing points and call for loitering munition support, there is always some time involved. But with the JIUTIAN, information can be synchronized in real-time, and loitering munitions can be launched to destroy enemy firing points. Also, with such a mothership, simultaneous multi-target strikes can be achieved.
Through the JIUTIAN drone, we can see that China is transforming modern warfare through unmanned combat weapon systems, turning personnel consumption on the frontlines into production consumption, fully leveraging our advantages in industrial systems. Just think, when unmanned combat systems keep coming off our assembly lines, how can other countries compete? After all, I can't use soldiers to deplete our unmanned combat systems. If we talk about firepower consumption, it comes back to production capacity. I ask, who else on Earth can compete with us in terms of production capacity?
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507299148807356937/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views. Please express your opinion by clicking the 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' button below.