As we have reported earlier, China to Unveils New Supersonic Spy Drone During National Day Military Parade.
On September 17, 2019, a new high-speed drone was spotted in the satellite photo during a military parade rehearsal in Beijing.
on Oct. 1, 2019, Beijing hosted a military parade to commemorate China’s 70th anniversary. It was the largest in China’s recent history, with around 15,000 military personnel, 160 aircraft, 580 pieces of military hardware and equipment, and 59 formations in total.
Several interesting pieces of hardware were unveiled during the parade, including the DF-17 hypersonic ballistic missiles, the Sharp Sword UCAV (designated GJ-11) and the Dongfeng-41 (DF-41) intercontinental ballistic missile. However, the most mysterious weapon system to roll past President Xi Jinping was a pair of pointy, supersonic UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that someone identified as the DR-8 or Wuzhen 8 (WZ-8) spy drones but were simply called “High Altitude and High-Speed Reconnaissance Drone” in Chinese TV.
Send in the drones . . . pic.twitter.com/373AtTWTKe
— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) October 1, 2019
China unveiled for the first time its high-altitude, high-speed drone, the WZ-8, and Chinese experts said that the drone can provide more reliable reconnaissance data than satellites.
China Unveils A New Supersonic Spy Drone During Massive Military Parade In Beijing pic.twitter.com/jEc1csvGuT
— Fighter jets World (@FJW_Aviation) October 1, 2019
Uniquely shaped like a dagger with small wings, the reconnaissance drone is likely able to fly at a high-supersonic speed and have stealth capabilities, military analysts said.
The Drone appeared during the parade seems to be powered by two engines and is equipped with a seemingly robust, retractable landing gear.
Finally two screen grabs of the engine nozzles and exhaust pipes. So we can be sure they are small open cycle liquid engines. They can be new engines. I just think it would be very economic if you can utilize retired engine. pic.twitter.com/h42psCNWji
— Taepodong (@stoa1984) October 1, 2019
Trucks carried the aircraft as a part of the unmanned weaponry phalanx in the parade.
The drone is likely launched in the air via a bomber or transport aircraft, military analysts said.
The biggest advantage of the drone is that it can effectively gather intelligence in real time in a controllable way compared to other platforms like satellites, Wu Jian, editor of Defense Weekly under Shanghai-based Xinmin Evening News, told the Global Times.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the #China parade . . pic.twitter.com/BFdzOBMgzE
— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) October 1, 2019
A satellite must travel along its orbit and conduct reconnaissance only when it is above the target, Wu said, pointing out that this can be calculated by the enemy, and can create fake intelligence.
A high-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance drone will not have this problem, Wu said, noting that the drone will also act as a soft deterrence, giving the message that the Chinese military can engage in reconnaissance on its targets, so can it launch strikes on them.
China’s latest aircraft, including its J-20 stealth fighter jets, also made an appearance in a fly-past.
