Last weekend, one CCTV A YouTube channel has shared a video showcasing some of the latest developments in autonomous aerial vehicles. There were a lot of everyday flying machines on display at the show, such as the Wing Loong II long-range drone and the Lanying R6000 tilt-rotor aircraft – a remarkable achievement for a country that has been less than a century away from semi-feudal rule, but not exactly breaking news.
However, one segment of the video shows a concept spacecraft called Luanniao, an orbiting mothership designed to launch unmanned fighter jets and “hyperballistic missiles” from the edge of space.
according to telegraphLuan Bird’s design specifications indicate that it is a giant spacecraft, nearly 800 feet long from nose to tail and about 2,244 feet wide. The designer said that at this size, it may weigh as much as 120,000 tons and have a payload of 88 “Xuannv” autonomous fighter drones operating in the upper limit of the stratosphere.
The Xuannv fighter is also a concept spacecraft, a hypothetical sixth-generation jet, displayed at science and technology exhibitions to attract students and the public to careers in engineering and science.
The concept of a Xuannv fighter jet has been circulating at aerospace trade shows since at least 2019, while the idea of a random bird dates back a full decade. However, both craft have recently been reinvigorated in the form of bold 3D renderings for Project Nantianmen, a program designed to coordinate China’s aerospace and defense sectors around a common (albeit somewhat distant) goal.
The Nantianmen announcement in state media triggered a flurry of exciting posts from Chinese netizens, including a fictional story set in a near future where the People’s Republic of China has a fleet of Luanniao aircraft carriers circling the globe.
Peter Layton, a defense expert and researcher at Australia’s Griffith Asia Research Institute, said that if this large spacecraft becomes a reality, it will “outclass almost everyone”. telegraph.
Layton noted that Chaos Birds would allow the Chinese military to deploy military assets anywhere in the world it wants: “Generally speaking, you’re also beyond the reach of weather – and you’re also beyond the reach of most defense systems.”
Launching a 120,000-ton spacecraft requires enormous amounts of energy, making the Laun Niao and its fleet of drones a distant fantasy. But given the rapid pace of technological development in China in recent years, what seems impossible today may not last long.
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