From Newsgroup: alt.philosophy.taoism
"Jiutian" large fixed-wing UAV maiden flight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9O_uVPf9hE&pp=ygUHaml1dGlhbg%3D%3D
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZNjUwtywVq0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcXkru3WHJE&pp=ygUHaml1dGlhbg%3D%3D
The "Jiutian" large fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) completed its maiden flight in Pucheng, Shaanxi Province on December 11, 2025. Official data and multiple reports have disclosed its core performance and highlighted its strategic significance. A summary is as follows:
### I. Hard-core performance rCo "three highs, one wide, one low"
1. **Heavy payload**: 6-ton mission load, equivalent to a light tactical transport aircraft, capable of delivering two standard LD3 containers or the weight of 80 adults of supplies 3,000 km away in one sortie.
2. **Long range**: 7,000 km ferry range, combat radius ree 3,000 km, covering the entire First Island Chain from coastal take-off; 12-hour endurance, allowing "day-and-night on-station" over target areas.
3. **High ceiling**: 15,000 m, above the engagement envelope of most low-/medium-altitude air-defense systems, putting enemy surface-to-air missiles in the dilemma of "using a cannon to swat a mosquito."
4. **Wide speed envelope**: 200rCo700 km/h continuous operation, able to loiter slowly for reconnaissance or dash at high speed for strike penetration.
5. **Short take-off & landing**: 580 m take-off roll (at 600 m altitude, 35 -#C), operable from simple dirt strips, enabling forward-area flexibility.
### II. Modular platform rCo "one airframe, multiple configurations"
- **Core concept**: "common platform + modular mission pallets." Cargo bay, refueling pod, comm-relay bay, medical bay can be swapped as a whole in <30 min, realizing "airframe-pallet separation."
- **Digital-twin cargo management**: real-time sensing of cargo shift in flight and automatic center-of-gravity adjustment; supports 130 kg precision airdrop.
- **Rapid mission-package switch**:
rCo *Military*: can carry PL-12AE air-to-air missiles, stand-off air-to-surface weapons, EW pods, or act as an "airborne mothership" launching 100+ small UAVs in swarm mode;
rCo *Civilian*: LD3 containers, relief supplies, comms base stations, SAR radar, mapping cameras plug-and-play; ton-kilometre cost 42 % lower than manned freighters.
### III. Technology autonomy & cost advantage
- **Localisation rate >95 %**: flight-control chips, turbofan engine, composite materials all from domestic supply chain; Shenzhen ecosystem of 1,700+ suppliers; unit cost only 1/40 of comparable U.S. system.
- **Designed to CCAR-92 airworthiness**: 60,000 test cycles, single-point failure rate <1|u10rU+rU| per flight hour, reaching civil airliner safety level.
### IV. Strategic significance rCo "five firsts"
1. **First time China leads globally in the 16-ton-class heavy UAV segment** (MQ-9 Reaper 1.7 t, Russian S-70 ree3 t).
2. **First realisation of the "large platform + swarm" saturation-strike concept**, flooding high-value air defences with low-cost small UAVs.
3. **First fusion of tactical-transport payload with unmanned long endurance**, possessing both strategic lift and persistent battlefield ISR.
4. **First civilrComilitary, ton-class, airworthy, modular platform** for disaster relief, remote logistics, maritime law-enforcement rapid switch-over.
5. **First export of high-end aerospace hardware with industrial cost advantage (1/40 unit price)**, winning discourse power for future sales and standard-setting.
### V. Future evolution
- **Stealthisation**: follow-on variants plan to use radar-absorbent coatings and dorsal inlet to reduce RCS.
- **Power upgrade**: non-afterburning turbofan raA variable-cycle or turboprop, higher thrust on plateau/hot days, shorter take-off distance.
- **Mission growth**: air-to-air refuelling, ASW magnetic anomaly detection, laser comms relay, high-power microwave suppression modules already in test phase.
### Conclusion
The maiden flight of "Jiutian" not only breaks Chinese technical benchmarks for large UAVs; with "super-heavy payload + modularity + low cost + dual-use," it redefines the operational and commercial value of high-end unmanned platforms. It propels China from "follower" to "leader" in the global heavy-UAV race and adds a new Chinese variable to Asia-Pacific force projection, emergency logistics, and the worldwide arms-trade landscape.
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