Military drones from China: “Jiutian SS-UAV” drone mothership to launch more than 100 small drones

Among military drones, it is a flying drone mothership of superlatives: China is presenting the “SS-UAV”. The 15-tonne system is to carry missiles as well as more than 100 small drones that it can launch in flight. This would make it a potential first-strike instrument, presumably designed for use well before a conflict begins.

The information became known via the CCTV-14 channel of Chinese state television.

According to the reports, the new drone mothership's maiden flight is planned for as early as June. The “Jiutian SS-UAV” is said to weigh around 15 tonnes, have a wingspan of 25 metres and fly up to 7,000 kilometres at a cruising altitude of 15,000 metres. This places the large drone in the high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) class. The payload is to consist of missiles on external hardpoints, up to 1,000 kilograms in total. In addition, more than 100 small drones are to be launched in flight from the fuselage of the “SS-UAV”.

The images published so far show an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a large jet engine mounted on its back and a twin tail. Nacelles under the wings house the main landing gear. A stabilised electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor can be seen under the nose; the radomes suggest a radar and satellite communications.

What China could use such military drones for

From a tactical point of view, a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone or a HALE drone such as the “SS-UAV” would in any case require air superiority in the area of operations during an ongoing conflict. It is therefore more likely that the “SS-UAV” is intended to serve as a conventional first-strike weapon before a conflict.

One conceivable scenario would be a one-way mission in international airspace, in which it surprisingly and within a very short time launches stand-off missiles as well as numerous, presumably AI-controlled small drones.