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Shenyang Marinized UCAV

05 July 2019 was the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the J-8 interceptor. This is the first aircraft designed and manufactured in China by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. Celebrating this event, Shenyang Group announced a video promoting the airline's aviation achievements. The video made by computer graphics shows an unmanned drone stealth taking off from the carrier. This clip was introduced at the Zhuhai 2018 International Air Show, and drew the attention of military observers.

China is developing many types of ordinary or stealth drone. The military also began testing Skyhawk and CH-7 drones. Especially CH-7 is a stealth drone that is said to be able to operate from aircraft carriers. The clip reinforced this statement. Shenyang Group is building a fighter on the flagship J-15 for use on the Liaoning carrier and Type-001A. The group is also finalizing the stealth fighter model J-31, or FC-31, a 5th generation fighter believed to be able to operate on carriers. Previously, the United States was a pioneer in developing and testing unmanned aircraft operating on carriers.

In the latter part of the video, which turned from real life documentary to computer generated images, a stealth drone featuring a flying wing design was shown operating on an aircraft carrier. The drone seems large, as its landing gear is as tall as a person, the video showed. This was also part of an AVIC promotional video first shown at Airshow China in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province in November 2018. But military observers at that time said that video was considered highly conceptual so they did not relate it to an actual aircraft by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.

The company has rich experience in designing ship-based aircraft and is also capable of developing flying wing aircraft, so people are looking forward to seeing the drone turn into reality. n the latter part of the video, which turned from real life documentary to computer generated images, a stealth drone featuring a flying wing design was shown operating on an aircraft carrier. The drone seems large, as its landing gear is as tall as a person, the video showed.

This was also part of an AVIC promotional video first shown at Airshow China in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province in November 2018. But military observers at that time said that video was considered highly conceptual so they did not relate it to an actual aircraft by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. The company has rich experience in designing ship-based aircraft and is also capable of developing flying wing aircraft, so people are looking forward to seeing the drone turn into reality. The company developed China's first aircraft carrier-based fighter jet, the J-15. The company also reportedly designed the Sharp Sword flying wing stealth drone.

Aircraft carrier-based drones can be used in land attacks, aerial refueling and intelligence gathering missions. A flying wing design provides advantages like high stealth capabilities and high lift-drag ratio under subsonic cruising, the expert said, noting that other countries are also developing flying wing drones, including the US' X-47B and MQ-25.