【Text by Observers Network, Wang Shichun】November 11 is the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Air Force. On this important day, @AirForceChina officially announced the new stealth attack drone "Attack-11".

This has drawn attention from the American website "The War Zone". In a report on November 11, the website stated that after satellite images from last month showed that the Attack-11 flying wing stealth drone had entered a "semi-combat state", China released its first aerial footage of the aircraft. At the same time, China officially announced that the official name of this drone is "Xuanlong" — which Americans translated as "Mysterious Dragon".

The War Zone website said that this is an important step in China's development of stealth drones, and that China will have more stealth drones in the future. However, this American military website still claimed that "Attack-11 has not yet entered service".

Attack-11 in flight @AirForceChina

This video appears at the end of a 30-minute promotional video released by the People's Liberation Army Air Force to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the founding of the army. The video not only shows the Attack-11 drone sliding out of the hangar, taking off, and flying, but also features the first footage of it flying in formation with the J-20 stealth fighter and the J-16D electronic warfare aircraft.

Another eye-catching segment in the video is the image of the J-20 launching a medium-range air-to-air missile (possibly the PL-15) from its internal weapons bay, which is a first for official videos.

The War Zone commented that it is significant for the Attack-11 to be seen flying alongside the J-20 and J-16D, two of the most advanced manned aircraft currently in service. Especially the J-16 and the dual-seat version of the J-20, which are considered by the United States to possibly serve as "airborne unmanned wingman control platforms", used to command stealth unmanned combat aircraft like the Attack-11.

The development of the Attack-11 began over a decade ago, and it is generally believed to be capable of conducting deep-strike missions and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) tasks. Its flying wing design combines high stealth capabilities with long endurance, allowing it to stay in the air longer than manned fighters while also being able to carry payloads. In the future, it may also expand into air combat and electronic warfare missions.

During satellite images taken between August 6 and September 5, 2025, at least three Attack-11s were found stationed at an airbase in Tibet, China — a civilian-military joint airport of strategic importance, close to the India-China border. This is considered strong evidence that the Attack-11 has entered the testing phase or even the initial stage of service.

The prototype of the Attack-11 made its first flight in 2013, but its stealth performance was limited at the time. After several improvements, the new model unveiled during the 2019 Beijing parade had a redesigned tail and exhaust port, significantly improving its stealth performance. Before being discovered in Rikaze and in this official video, the Attack-11 mainly operated in a large test base in Xinjiang, which has long been considered the core testing site for China's unmanned combat aircraft. Its models have also frequently appeared in parades or naval training facilities.

Attack-11 on display in Tibet captured by commercial satellites on social media

On September 3, 2025, the Attack-11 "model" reappeared during the Beijing parade (the War Zone website refers to it as a model; note from Observers Network). Interestingly, the accompanying image from the War Zone website was of an Attack-21.

Evidently, China intends for the Attack-11 or its derivatives to operate on aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. However, the War Zone website still does not know that two months ago we had already released the Attack-21 carrier-based drone, continuing to speculate that the carrier-based version of the Attack-11 could be the "Attack-11H". New images even show that a carrier-based version has undergone flight tests, with the tail hook lowered, clearly indicating it is for shipboard recovery testing.

The development of the Attack-11 reflects China's continuous heavy investment in stealth flying wing drones, which contrasts sharply with the U.S. military's recent attitude of downplaying similar projects. The U.S. has been relatively inactive in this field, with very few comparable flying wing UCAV projects in public records.

At the same time, countries such as Russia, India, Turkey, and France are also increasing their efforts in developing similar drones.

Another Chinese stealth flying wing drone — the Rainbow-7 (CH-7) — has recently been photographed flying in the air for the first time. Unlike the ground display model, the CH-7 in flight added outwardly angled vertical tails, speculated to be for envelope expansion testing.

Additionally, satellite images show that China has tested two larger flying wing drones at a base in the northwest. These phenomena are sufficient to indicate that China is making a large-scale layout for flying wing stealth unmanned combat aircraft, with both land-based and sea-based versions being developed simultaneously.

In the conclusion of the report, the War Zone stated that the Attack-11 is basically ready for operational use, and its formal entry into the Air Force ranks is just a matter of time. Following it, more flying wing drones and other advanced types of drones from China will also appear in succession.

This article is an exclusive article by Observers Network. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7571680297457058345/

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