Indian Defence Review

China’s ‘Sharp Sword’ stealth UAV

As per media reports appearing in China in November 2013, the Chinese military successfully completed the first test flight of their stealth drone. The test flight conducted over Chengdu lasted for 20 minutes.

Dubbed as ‘Sharp Sword’, this Chinese Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has a striking resemblance to the US Navy’s X-47B. However, as per analysts, the Chinese drone is a reverse-engineered clone of Russia’s Mikoyan Skat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Not much else is known about the capabilities of the jet-powered drone though.

“The successful flight shows the nation has again narrowed the disparity in air power between itself and Western nations,” said the state-run newspaper, China Daily.