The Lijian ("sharp sword") designed by Hongdu Aviation Industry Group based in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, appeared on the internet on May. 14, according to the country's state newswire Xinhua.
From the photo below, a military analyst in China said the drone's engine is apparently the RD-93 imported from Russia. This is the same engine used by JF-17 Xiaolong or Thunder multi-role fighter developed by China in partnership with Pakistan. The drone is larger than the French nEUROn, but smaller than the X-47B developed by the US.
Designed jointly by the Hongdu Aviation Industry Group and Shenyang Aviation Corporation, the Lijian ("sharp sword") is China's first stealth drone and the third in the world after the X-47 designed by Northrop Grumman of the United States and France's Dassault nEUROn. The Lijian program was launched in 2009 and the drone's ground test was conducted on Dec. 13 last year. The drone is set to be used by the PLA Air Force and Navy Air Force for combat missions, and also for tracking and reconnaissance purposes.
Peng Tinghua, a Chinese military analyst, said on his blog that the Lijian shares very similar specs to the X-47B, designed by Northrop Grumman. With a combat radius of 4,000km, according to the China Aviation News, the Lijian would be able to strike any target in the Western Pacific region, meaning it could be deployed in operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South and East China seas in a campaign against the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam or the Philippines, Peng said.
Several smaller precision attack munitions were demonstrated at the Zhuhai Air Show in southern China last year. Most of them, including the CM-506 glider bomb, could be carried by the Lijian drone.
The prototype means China is ahead of several nations in the development of stealth drones, including Britain. Russia, India, Sweden, Italy, Iran and Israel, which also have their own stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs.
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