China’s state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has successfully completed the maiden flight of its massive Jiu Tian drone carrier, a high-altitude platform designed to deploy over 100 loitering munitions and enable overwhelming “swarm attacks.” The aircraft, hailed by state media as a major breakthrough, signals a significant boost to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) unmanned warfare capabilities.
In modern warfare, the skies are no longer ruled solely by fighter jets and bombers, but by clouds of coordinated drones. The latest development in this domain comes from China, where a new type of aerial platform has taken its first flight—not to deliver a single bomb, but to unleash a robotic swarm. This aircraft is designed to be a mothership in the sky, fundamentally changing the calculus of air defense for potential adversaries.
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The Jiu Tian, a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by AVIC’s First Aircraft Institute, has officially completed its inaugural flight in Shaanxi province, according to a report by the state news agency Xinhua. Described as a “breakthrough in China’s large drone technology,” the Jiu Tian is engineered to act as an airborne aircraft carrier for smaller drones, reported Xinhua.
The operational concept is both simple and formidable. The Jiu Tian, with a maximum take-off weight of 16 tonnes and a payload capacity of 6,000kg, can reportedly carry up to 100 kamikaze drones or loitering munitions within its fuselage. These sub-drones can be launched en masse to saturate enemy air defenses, a tactic known as a swarm attack. “This feature confirmed that the military-civilian dual-use aircraft would be a ‘drone carrier’, enabling it to execute ‘swarm attacks’ that an adversary’s air defence system would be ‘unable to defend against’,” said Song Zhongping, a Chinese military commentator and former PLA instructor.
Song emphasized the platform’s strategic value, describing its “saturation strike capability” as key to breaching sophisticated defenses by overwhelming them with sheer numbers. With a service ceiling of 15,000 metres (49,200 feet) and a ferry range of 7,000km, the Jiu Tian can operate from stand-off distances at high altitude, deploying its swarm to attack ground and maritime targets. This high-altitude launch capability, Song noted, is “unique globally and highly forward-looking.”
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Beyond its military role, Xinhua highlighted diverse civilian applications, including heavy cargo delivery to remote areas, disaster relief, geographic surveys, and mineral exploration. This dual-use nature is a common theme in China’s technological development, blurring the lines between commercial and military advancement.
The Jiu Tian’s debut adds a new layer to China’s rapidly expanding drone arsenal, which includes stealth combat drones like the CH-7 and anti-submarine models like the Wing Loong-X. Analysts see it as a potential counter to dominant U.S. reconnaissance and strike drones like the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper, though it fulfills a distinctly different, carrier-based role.
For the PLA, the Jiu Tian represents a force multiplier aimed at achieving asymmetry in potential conflicts. In scenarios like a contingency in the Taiwan Strait, such swarming capabilities could be deployed to degrade air defense networks, clear paths for other assets, or directly strike high-value targets. The development underscores Beijing’s substantial investment in unmanned systems as a cornerstone of its modern military strategy.
While the first flight is a milestone, the path to full operational deployment will involve further testing and integration. However, the message is clear: the future of aerial combat may involve not just dogfights between jets, but strategic engagements between intelligent drone carriers and the diffuse, intelligent swarms they release. The Jiu Tian has now taken the first step to make that future a tangible part of the PLA’s order of battle.
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