China’s Rapid Drone Development

Envoy Staff Writer

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China’s drone aspirations are no longer a paper threat in theory but are being turned into reality in the form of capabilities that are changing the direction of airborne warfare. From gigantic “mothership” UAVs to stealthier unmanned fighter aircraft and a deep integration of civilian and military drone sectors, Beijing is sprinting towards an era of unmanned dominance. But risk yields reward: China must balance scale, survivability, command and control, and geopolitical blowback.

At the heart of China’s drone vision is the Jiu Tian, an intended air “drone mothership” that is designed to carry and deploy swarms of dozens of mini-drones. A study by the U.S. Department of Defense, replicated by a report by the Defense Systems Information Analysis Center, outlines that China has begun developing very large UAVs that can be used as air-launched platforms — “drone motherships” — like a reconnaissance/strike variant that was displayed at the Zhuhai airshow. The same report warns that such systems impinge upon U.S. military planning, particularly with respect to counter-swarm engagement and powerful networks.

Mainstream media coverage adds color to what life is like in the real world. Popular Mechanics explains that the Jiu Tian is said to have a 25-meter wingspan and can deploy as many as 100 smaller drones, kamikaze models included, from side bays. But critics caution that the vision isn’t without significant trade-offs: a UAV of this size would be hard in contested airspace, vulnerable to air defense systems, and struggle with directing large numbers of drones consistently.

China’s broader drone industry is also changing under a tightly managed civil-military fusion policy. Defense One documents that China’s drone industry not only replicates commercial technology for military applications, but is part of a strategy that integrates Chinese government, private sector, and military research into a synergistic system. Within that paradigm, experience with civilian logistics, package delivery drones, and industrial-scale drone deployment informs military variants in real time. “China’s unmanned systems sector is not so much a story of civilian, but also military, systems,” Defense One writes. Defense One

At recent military shows, China exhibited large unmanned stealth fighter concepts — drones more akin to resembling jet fighters than to loitering munitions. In September 2025, a stealthy, large unmanned combat aircraft debuted at China’s military parade for the first time. The Warzone noted that the aircraft is performance- and low-observability-optimized, and it might well be used in parallel with or in place of manned fighters. 

More information is emerging through satellite images and study of test facilities. A new low-observable flying wing design (referred to by analysts as a “cranked kite” silhouette) was observed at a test facility in China’s Xinjiang region. It is said to bear a resemblance to an advanced version of China’s CH-7 high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle. Some believe it’s a model for next-generation stealth unmanned aircraft.

The Center for European Policy Analysis cites a growing China-Russia drone partnership. Engineers from both countries now design and engineer deadly drone systems, cooperative designs, and knowledge sharing, particularly in platforms best suited for long-range strike, swarming, and compatibility with air defenses. The partnership shows how China can leverage capabilities from outside sources.

But the path forward is filled with obstacles. The very size of motherships diminishes stealth and survivability to an actual issue. Commanding and maneuvering enormous swarms in adversary electromagnetic terrain remains a still-unresolved challenge. Anti-drone, jamming, and anti-UAV solutions are rapidly advancing, raising the bar for China’s designs to be cutting-edge. And even as civil-military fusion provides speed, it does so at the expense of procurement transparency, quality control, and sustainability.

Secondly, how the world reacts to China’s unmanned push will be important. As Beijing promotes banner-like drone success, other nations will react by modifying buying, doctrine, and investment in like fashion. The United States military and its group of friends will have to invest in high-end counter-swarm concepts, distributed sensor webs, and hardened command networks — and even reconsider assumptions about air dominance itself.

Image courtesy of Getty Images.