April 28, 2025: China has long sought to develop weapons and military equipment and techniques that their enemies were unfamiliar with and unprepared to defend against. Unmanned aerial, naval and land vehicles or drones were seen as such a weapon. Then China observed the supremacy of drone warfare in Ukraine since 2023 and redoubled their efforts to become a major drone power.

An existing example of this is their WZ 9 drone. This is a jet-propelled, seven ton drone with a 40 meter wingspan, a top speed of 800 kilometers an hour and a cruising speed of 400 kilometers an hour. Max altitude is 25 kilometers and endurance is several hours. The twin fuselage drone payload consists of a camera and up to seven AESA radars. The multiple radars enable the drone to capture terrain features below in great detail. WZ 9 has been in service since 2018 and is used for maritime as well as land surveillance.

China has also developed a drone that can operate under water, on the surface and in the air. Propulsion is via a propeller in the rear of the drone. The Chinese drone uses wings that can automatically fold into the drone body when not needed. The drone operations control system incorporates a lot of Artificial Intelligence, or AI technology, and this drone technology can be adapted for use in other weapons like torpedoes, guided bombs, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

For submarines this drone can be launched under water. The torpedo tubes are not needed because the drone is small enough to be launched from other portions of a conventional or nuclear submarine. The drone carries out its mission then lands on the water, submerges and returns to the sub that launched it. On return the drone provides the submarine commander with detailed video, weather and audio of what is happening on the surface.