After China’s first stealth combat UAS, the Lijian, completed its first test flight on November 21, the Moscow-based Military Parade stated that the aircraft — designed jointly by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and Hongdu Aviation Industry Group — is in fact a copy of a Russian design.
The Lijian’s 20-minute test flight was completed at an unknown test centre located in southwestern China, according to China’s Global Times on December 9. Photos of the new UAS first appeared on the Chinese military website in May this year, with the US-based Strategy Page reporting that the People’s Liberation Army may have released the images to demonstrate its military muscle.
China is catching up slowly with the United States and Israel in the development of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), the US-based Aviation Week said. Taking the Lijian, Wing Loong and CH-4 as examples, the report stated China is able to design and produce various types of UAS including hand-launched miniature UAS and larger long-range unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.
However, the Military Parade claims that China copied the design of Russia’s Mikoyan Skat UAS. It said the Lijian may employ an RD-93, the upgrade version of the Klimov RD-33 engine equipped by the Skat, as it is widely used in aircraft developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
Huang Jun, a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, dismissed the accusation that China stole technology from Russia for the development of the Lijian. He said the Chinese aircraft may look similar to the US X47-B navy UAS and Skat, but added that all of the world’s flying wing UAS are designed in that way.
According to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, China currently has fewer than 300 UAS, while the US operates 678.
Photos: (Top) Lijian; (Middle) Mig Skat
Source: Want China Times