Ahead of the Zhuhai Air Show in China, an international aerospace trade show organized by the Beijing administration, a drone mothership concept has been spotted at the event's grounds.

The drone mothership, which is said to have a maximum takeoff weight of 10 tons, could have the capability to launch drone swarms in the air.

The drone, Called Jiu Tian, which stands for ‘High Sky’ in Chinese, is powered by jet engines. Its design is by the government-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

Drone mothership concept’s specifications

The markings on the drone mothership read SS-UAV, along with others in Chinese script. While clearly the UAV stands for unmanned aerial vehicle, it is unclear what SS stands for.

A look at the aircraft reveals that it uses a normal tricycle landing and take-off gear, and carries a jet engine on top of its central fuselage.

While initially it can look like a normal attack aircraft, its central payload section is labeled as ‘Isomerism Hive Module’. This reveals that the mothership could have the capability to launch drones mid-air and then manage swarms to carry out operations.

The ability to launch multiple drones mid-air and then use the mothership as a command center is a dream project of China and several other countries.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has proven how effective drones can be in tilting the balance to one side.

It should be noted that the ability to launch and retrieve drones mid-air can extend the range of operations for any army. It can give drones a much-needed additional range to carry out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare.

The lethality of kamikaze drones can also increase to a great extent with them being deployed from a vessel which is already airborne.

Therefore, while more specifications about the Chinese mothership drone are yet to emerge, it would quite likely boost the People’s Liberation Army’s capabilities to a great extent.

Zhuhai Air Show - China

The drone mothership concept from AVIC is not the only surprising flying vessel to make its debut at the Zhuhai Air Show.

China’s Navy warplane J-15T also landed in Zhuhai yesterday, making it the first time that a PLA Navy jet will go on display.

The J-15T is a 4.5 generation fighter jet which has been designed to be launched from a catapult aboard China’s newest aircraft carrier- Fujian.

There is also much furor over China unveiling its latest stealth fighter jet, J-35A, during the air show.

The PLA Air Force has confirmed that the J-35A will make its debut at Zhuhai. It is a land-based operations variant of the J-35 naval fighter.

PLA Air Force spokesman Niu Wenbo had told state media broadcaster CCTV that the HQ-19 surface-to-air missile will also make its debut at the air show, alongside “a new type of reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle.”

Experts believe that the drone mothership concept by AVIC is the new UAV type that Wenbo mentioned.

The air show is slated to begin on November 12 and continue till November 17, Russia is also going to display its multi-role stealth fighter Su-57 at the event.

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