(Asien) PLAAF - Chinas Luftwaffe

[Skywalker]

China’s Carrier-Killing KD-21 Ballistic Missile Shown as Part of CH-Series UCAV’s Munitions
Published on: October 16, 2024 at 1:38 PM
Parth Satam Parth Satam
CH-9 KD-21
The KD-21 (or 2PZD-21) ALBM before what is believed to be a CH-9 UCAV. (Image credit: @琴石2022 from Weibo shared by ‘@Rupprecht_A’ on X)
The KD-21 is a serious strategic weapon that has been appearing underneath the H-6K bombers. Chinese commanders would not mind if a UCAV can fire a strategic weapon at half the operational cost and risk compared to a bomber.
A photo, emerged online, shows a Chinese KD-21 (2PZD-21) ALBM (Air-Launched Ballistic Missile) in front of a CH-series UCAV, amid other air-to-ground munitions and massive sensor pods on its hardpoints. The KD-21 is a serious strategic weapon that has been appearing underneath the H-6K bombers for two years now, and in June 2024 leading Chinese military aviation researcher Andreas Rupprecht shared a picture showing the aircraft carrying what looked like four of the munitions. In May, the H-6K was also captured on video while dropping the weapon.

https://theaviationist.com/2024/10/16/kd-21-ch-series/

[Skywalker]

Auf der Zuhai Airshow 2024 wurde zum ersten Mal eine Animation des H-20 Bomber gezeigt.

https://x.com/Defence_IDA/status/1855515...aY9Yw&s=19

[Schneemann]

Und die Infos zur neuen CH-7-Langstreckendrohne wurden auch erweitert:

China’s Stealth CH-7 Long-Endurance Drone Emerges

The large flying-wing CH-7 drone has gone through several iterations but is reportedly due to complete its development imminently. [...] Video and stills released by Chinese state media today show the drone on a so-far unidentified runway, taxiing down it day and night — although we don’t see it in the air. The yellow-colored coat of primer is frequently seen on Chinese aircraft during its test phase. Meanwhile, a pair of apparent air data probes on the leading edges of the wing point to this being a prototype or perhaps a pre-production machine. [...]

The drone was first unveiled in the form of a full-scale mockup at Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai. At this point, it looked very much like a Chinese clone of the Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAV, with the same modified ‘cranked kite’ wing, although it featured canted wingtips instead of the triangular wingtip edges found on the U.S. aircraft. [...]

In the process, the dimensions of the drone also changed. In its 2018 form, published figures included a wingspan of 22 meters (72 feet), while the 2022 model represented a drone with a wingspan of 26 meters (85 feet). Other published specifications, which remain provisional, include a length of 10 meters (33 feet), a maximum takeoff weight of 10,000 kilograms (22,000 pounds), a maximum speed of 926 km/h (575 mph), and an endurance of up to 15 hours. These all apply to the 2022 version of the drone.

https://www.twz.com/air/chinas-stealth-c...ne-emerges.

Schneemann