At the Zhuhai Airshow, scheduled for November 12-17, 2024, China plans to showcase its latest advancements in military drones, including AVIC’s 10-ton SS-UAV, known as Jiutian. This large UAV, designed for reconnaissance and strike missions, is positioned as a potential competitor to well-known American drones such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper, highlighting China’s progress in developing UAV capabilities for strategic operations. The Jiutian represents a significant step forward for Chinese military aviation, underscoring its focus on expanding the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for a broad range of operational roles.
A few days before its official unveiling in Zhuhai, preliminary photos of the Jiutian emerged, showcasing its robust build and advanced configuration. The images reveal a large single-engine drone with a rear-thrust engine, modular design, and significant payload capacity—an important milestone for the Chinese military in the competitive field of high-performance UAVs.
The SS-UAV, developed by China’s Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), features a powerful single-engine design, a broad wingspan, and a fuselage equipped with eight underwing pylons, enabling it to carry a diverse payload, including surveillance sensors and potentially weapons. Comparable in size to the B-25 or H-5, the Jiutian is equipped with a modular bay in the center of the fuselage, providing enhanced operational flexibility and simplifying reconfiguration for specific reconnaissance or strike missions.
One of the most impressive features of the Jiutian UAV is its “heterogeneous cell bay”—an innovative module designed to deploy multiple smaller drones mid-flight. This capability makes it particularly suitable for saturation or disruption operations, enabling prolonged surveillance and precision strikes autonomously. This unique mission module, the first of its kind among large UAVs, shows that Jiutian was developed not only for reconnaissance missions but also for swarm attacks, enhancing its versatility and effectiveness on the battlefield.
In future scenarios envisioned by China, the SS-UAV Jiutian is expected to play a critical role after air superiority is achieved by fifth-generation fighter jets and ballistic missiles over a strategic area, such as a contested island. Jiutian, alongside other large UAVs and long-range cruise missiles, would be deployed to maintain continuous pressure and ensure air dominance. This strategy aims to secure a sustained aerial presence, deterring any adversary advances while providing surveillance and immediate strike capability as soon as a target is detected.
The impressive size of the SS-UAV Jiutian, combined with its single-engine design, enables it to operate at high altitudes, as reflected in its name “Jiutian,” which translates to “high altitude.” Operating at these heights not only extends its range for long-duration missions but also enhances its stealth, making it harder for ground-based radar systems to detect. Additionally, the rear-mounted engine reduces its thermal signature, providing an extra layer of concealment essential for extended reconnaissance missions in potentially contested areas.
The SS-UAV Jiutian is more than just an addition to China’s UAV arsenal; it represents China’s ambition to compete with the latest American drones and develop systems capable of executing a wide range of tasks, from surveillance to precision strikes. With its unique combination of payload flexibility, stealth capabilities, and a modular bay for deploying swarm drones, Jiutian highlights China’s strategic vision for achieving air dominance through advanced unmanned systems.
The Jiutian UAV is positioned as a direct competitor to the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper, combining some key features of these American drones while introducing unique innovations. Like the RQ-4, Jiutian is designed for high-altitude, long-endurance missions, equipped with a wide wingspan and extended flight range that enable continuous surveillance over vast geographic areas. Its rear-mounted engine, similar in concept to the RQ-4’s design, reduces its thermal signature, enhancing its stealth capabilities at high altitudes.
Source: Armyrecognition
