DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINE OF AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY
IS CHINA DEVELOPING AN UNMANNED STEALTH FIGHTER?
THE CHINESE MILITARY appears to be working on a fast, radar-evading robotic fighter that could be the first of its kind anywhere in the world.
The Dark Sword drone, as it’s known, is the latest in a long line of jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and sister firms have been developing since the early 2000s. The UAV first appeared in a photo that began circulating on social media in early June 2018.
The photo depicts a sleek, roughly 30ft-long aircraft bearing several of the signature features of supersonic stealth warplanes. Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s parent company, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the photo.
The Dark Sword has not been observed in fight and some skeptics have questioned whether it’s a functional aircraft or merely a non-flying mock-up. Small scale-models of the Dark Sword design have frequently appeared at industrial events in China and abroad.
‘Looks like a mock-up for a supersonic stealth drone, but an official AVIC mock-up’, Jeffrey Lin, an independent expert on Chines…
