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ZHUHAI, China – A Chinese state-owned company has announced the development of a stealth combat drone, a telling sign of the country's growing aerospace feats. The CH-7 unmanned aerial vehicle also highlights China's growing competitiveness in the expanding UAV world market.
China has won sales in the Middle East and elsewhere by offering drones at lower prices and without the political conditions imposed by the United States.
CH-7 chief designer Shi Wen said the plane could "fly long hours, spot and hit the target if necessary".
"Very soon, I think that here one to two years, we will be able to see the CH-7 fly in the blue skies, gradually becoming a practical and usable product in the future," said Shi at Associated Press.
Shi said the Chinese manufacturer Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation was planning to test the drone next year and start mass production by 2022. He said the drone would likely be sold to the company. foreign, but that he did not have any information about his potential customers.
A Stealth CH-7 HALE unmanned reconnaissance aircraft model is presented at Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, southern China.
Getty
An airplane model is being presented at the Zhuhai Air Show this week in South China, a bi – annual event that showcases China 's latest progress in the fields of civil and military aviation.
Of a wingspan of 22 meters and a length of 10 meters, the CH-7 wing swings to the size of a fighter and its single-engine can propel it pretty much to the speed of a commercial plane. airliner.
The United States, Russia and France are also developing stealth drones, while Israel has long been a leader in the field of UAVs.
However, low prices and the willingness to transfer technology have given China a "strong position" in the drone market, said Phil Finnegan, head of corporate analysis at Teal Group Corp. in Fairfax, Virginia.
The United States has been extremely cautious about selling its unmanned top-of-the-range system, even to NATO member states, thereby opening up an opportunity for China in the export market, said Justin Bronk, exporter of these technologies at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London.
"This would represent an area of China 's arms export offerings that no other country offers," Bronk said.
In parallel with its development of stealth fighter and commercial transport aircraft, China has made rapid progress in the development of UAVs, the cost of which is relatively lower. Sales were also boosted by the fact that China is not a signatory of the missile technology control regime, which restricts missile exports and other unmanned weapon systems.
The number of drone programs unveiled in China in recent years is "dizzying," said Sam Roggeveen, director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute in Australia.
Although the ultimate effectiveness of the CH-7 remains to be determined, if it were exported, it would "mark a further step forward for China, which has traditionally not offered its advanced technology to foreign customers "said Roggeveen.
Across the Middle East, Chinese arms traffickers, now the world's largest distributor of armed drones, are forced to buy UAVs made in the United States.
Sales help boost Chinese influence in a region critical to US security interests and reinforce Beijing's ambitions to become the leader in high-tech weapons sales.
While the United States still holds a technological advantage, China wins on the price. The fact that it is willing to sell the CH-7 abroad could indicate that the technology is not at the cutting edge, given China's willingness to preserve its lead in such areas, said Ron Huisken, Regional Security Expert at the Australian National University.
Chinese exports also point to the increasing ubiquity of drones in modern warfare, even in the absence of strong international agreements on where and how they can be used.
"One wonders what bad surprises await more relaxed countries on the use of drones and less stringent training standards," Huisken said.
The J-20 stealth fighter made in China, which looks like the same at Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor serving the US military, also appeared again at this year's Zhuhai show.
He was joined by the Chinese J-10B fighter with vector thrust, equipped with an engine equipped with an articulated nozzle. Vectorization thrust technology allows aircraft to direct their propulsion, which gives them more flexibility in their maneuvers. The substation of Chinese-made WS-10 engines for those imported from Russia seems to mark a new milestone for the national defense industry.
The warplanes on display delighted the spectators. For many, these performances reflect the rise of the Chinese aerospace industry and the growing confidence in its technology.
"I think it's great," said Xie Dongni, a marketing specialist for an information technology company.
"I may not be an airplane specialist, but I can feel the way China is evolving, it is slowly growing, its international status is growing."
