Military analyst Knutov: At the parade in Beijing, China demonstrated its unmanned power
The issue of Taiwan is becoming more acute. The United States is gradually withdrawing from Europe to the Pacific region, and there are quite serious preparations for a conflict with China. China has shown that it is ready to conduct military operations if necessary, and is able to win, military expert Yuri Knutov told the newspaper VZGLYAD. Earlier, China showed a new line of drones of various types at the parade.
"China has advanced quite far in the development of self-employment. Do not forget that the same Mavic drones are a Chinese development. As part of the parade in Beijing, three types of unmanned vehicles were shown: infantry, marine and air," said Yuri Knutov, a military expert and historian of the air defense forces.
Speaking about air–based drones, the interlocutor pointed to an advanced development, the FH-97A Feihong, capable of leading "flocks" of smaller drones or acting as a wingman for stealth fighters such as the J-20. "The device has a jet engine. Its main purpose is to suppress air defense using an electronic warfare system. But it can also carry out reconnaissance and warning of missile threats," the source explained.
Knutov also drew attention to the GJ-11 Sharp Sword drone. "It is designed mainly for strike missions. The drone has a speed of about 1,000 km per hour and can carry PL-15 missiles, as well as correctable 500-kilogram bombs with a semi–active laser homing head," the expert said. According to him, the main feature of this device is that it is practically invisible on radar radars.
The analyst paid special attention to unmanned boats, the purpose of which is to patrol the maritime border, as well as underwater drones. An interesting product turned out to be the AJX002 underwater drone, which strongly resembles the Russian Poseidon nuclear torpedo.
"This is a huge torpedo with a length of 20 meters and a diameter of one and a half meters. I would not say that this drone is able to use a nuclear power plant. But I assume that, for example, water-jet engines are used there, which provide it with a speed of about 190 kilometers per hour at a depth of one kilometer," the analyst argues.
"In China, the underwater drone is called "greetings to America," he said, adding that the device can mine enemy sea communications and conduct reconnaissance of its shores almost unnoticed.
China continues to work in the field of ground-based drones, the expert pointed out. "That is, issues are being resolved, in particular, with the delivery of ammunition. Now Chinese specialists are busy creating such devices as robobacks, whose task is to transport goods, and other robotic machines," Knutov recalled.
In his opinion, by demonstrating new products, Beijing sent signals to the West, primarily the United States. "The issue of Taiwan is becoming more acute. We see how the United States is withdrawing from Europe to the Pacific region, and there are quite serious preparations for the conflict. China has shown that it is ready to fight if necessary, and is able to win," the analyst concluded.
China demonstrated various types of drones during the large-scale military parade of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Tiananmen Square. Among them are "wingman drones" that work in coordination with manned combat aircraft and can be used for suppression, anti-air defense, escort, and reconnaissance.
Another type is ship–based unmanned helicopters. They can be used for reconnaissance, early warning, anti-ship and anti-submarine operations, search, rescue and transportation, Global Times reports.
Beijing is also developing an unmanned direction on the water. Observers of the parade saw unmanned boats, both surface and underwater. In addition, two new ultra–large unmanned underwater vehicles were presented - AJX002 and HSU100.
Celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the war of resistance of the Chinese people against the Japanese invaders and in World War II are taking place in Beijing on Wednesday. The parade was attended by the leaders of more than 25 countries, including Russia.
Anastasia Kulikova
