Ahead of China’s Zhuhai Airshow, an international aerospace show organized by the Beijing administration, a drone mothership concept has been spotted on the event grounds.

The drone mothership, which would have a maximum takeoff mass of 10 tonnes, could have the ability to launch swarms of drones into the air.

The drone, called Jiu Tian, ​​meaning “High Sky” in Chinese, is powered by jet engines. Its design was carried out by the government company Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

Drone Mothership Concept Specifications

Markings on the drone’s mothership read SS-UAV, along with others in Chinese script. Although UAV clearly means unmanned aerial vehicle, it is unclear what exactly SS means.

A look at the plane revealed that it uses normal tricycle landing and takeoff gear and carries a jet engine on top of its central fuselage.

Although initially it may look like a normal attack aircraft, its central payload section is labeled as the “Isomerism Hive Module”. This reveals that the mothership might have the ability to launch drones into the air and then manage swarms to carry out operations.

The ability to launch multiple drones in the air and then using the mothership as a command center is a dream project for China and several other countries.

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

It should be noted that the ability to launch and recover drones in flight can extend the range of operations of any army. This can give drones a essential additional range to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare operations.

The lethality of kamikaze drones can also increase to a large extent if deployed from a ship already in flight.

Therefore, although further specifications on the Chinese mother drone are yet to emerge, it is very likely that it would enhance the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army to a large extent.

Zhuhai Airshow – China

AVIC’s drone mothership concept isn’t the only surprising flying craft to debut at the Zhuhai Airshow.

Chinese Navy J-15T fighter jet also landed in Zhuhai yesterday, making it the first time a PLA Navy jet will be on display.

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

There is also a lot of fury about China unveiling its latest stealth fighter jet, the J-35A, at the air show.

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

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

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

The air show is scheduled to begin on November 12 and continue until November 17. Russia will also showcase its Su-57 multi-role stealth fighter at the event.