Smooth test flight proves ‘new concept’ human-drone design for China’s next-gen fighter

A new aircraft combining a stealth fighter with two drones that can break away in a flash is the latest weapon in China’s arsenal

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The J-20 is China’s most potent stealth fighter, but a new aircraft under development could soon claim that title. Photo: CNS/AFP

Published: 10:00am, 28 Jun 2024Updated: 3:12pm, 28 Jun 2024

At an airport on the southern edge of the Mu Us Desert in Ningxia, northwest China, engineers and scientists conduct a test flight on a jet plane that the world has never seen.

According to some recently disclosed design drawings, this mysterious fighter aircraft, powered by a dual-inlet turbojet engine, has a blended wing body design with sweeping delta wings, a hallmark of high-speed stealth fighters.

And what happens during the flight is nothing short of extraordinary: a segment of each of the wings detaches from the fighter, metamorphosing into two “flying wing” drones propelled by electric ducted fans.

Immediately after the drones’ separation, however, the fighter experiences a tremor, a consequence of the abrupt wing area reduction and gravity centre shift that significantly alters its aerodynamic profile.

Nevertheless, the aircraft and the drones quickly resume stable flight, showing the effectiveness of the aerodynamic design and automatic control algorithms.

The successful test flight proves a “new concept” for the Chinese Air Force’s next generation fighter jet, according to Du Xin, a senior engineer with the Aerospace Technology Institute of the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Centre (CARDC), which has been sanctioned by the US.