China's New Supersonic Drone Could Threaten U.S. Navy

A recent photo depicts a Xian H-6 medium bomber flying high over the ground – so high that, from the vantage point of the photographer, it’s little more than a winged blur. Equally blurry: whatever the bomber was carrying under its fuselage.

It might be a supersonic reconnaissance drone – one designed to hunt down US Navy aircraft carriers on the vast Pacific Ocean. Or it could be an even faster “hypersonic” vehicle. It’s hard to say from the single blurry image of the thing that has circulated on social media. All we can say for sure is that the Chinese military is up to something. And whatever it is, it’s bad news for the United States and the whole free world.

The PLAAF is known to be developing at least two types of high-speed unmanned aerial vehicles that depend on a bomber to launch them. Both roughly match the basic shape of the object under the H-6 in the photo.

One is the AVIC WZ-8. This supersonic UAV made its first public appearance at a rehearsal for a parade in Beijing in 2019. The UAV’s narrow fuselage and wings – ideal for fast supersonic flight – strongly imply the WZ-8 is a recon drone. One whose rocket engine isn’t suitable for takeoff from a traditional runway, and instead requires mid-air launch.

Chinese media concur with that impression. The WZ-8 “would be expected to play a key role should there be a conflict with US aircraft carrier strike groups in the South China Sea or western Pacific,” the South China Morning Post reported.

A camera-equipped satellite might be able to detect a carrier, but only when the satellite crosses the patch of ocean where the ship happens to be. Most satellites travel along orbits that allow them to surveil only narrow swathes of the Earth below.