Problem with this kind of drone is that it is highly vulnerable to decent air defense. It is more of an arsenal plane for mop up operations than true tip of the spear.
Chinese MALE, HALE (and rotary, small, suicide) UAV/UCAV
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Agreed.
I would also add that perhaps the Jetank could work together with other MALE/HALE-type UAVs (e.g. CH-series and WL-series) in formations, with the latter providing lookouts and guidance for the bombs and missiles that are launched by the Jetank.
The "kick-the-door-down" missions would be better suited for the likes of GJ-11/21 and some of the UADFs/ULWFs that are loaded with A2G munitions.
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The gang talked about how this plane's emphasis right now seems to be more civilian oriented, which is totally reasonable as it provides a fairly generic large platform which is needed for the low-altitude economy. Having being established for civilian use, it would also make any transition to military use much smoother, whether for domestic users or for export.
They also said the CMC's current idea on "how the next war will be fought" is very "abstract" and they are still exploratory on the exact way to use these "unmanned bombers".
They also said the CMC's current idea on "how the next war will be fought" is very "abstract" and they are still exploratory on the exact way to use these "unmanned bombers".
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Guess that makes them the RORO ships of the sky.
The mission module idea reminds me of LCS, hopefully it goes smoother than LCS.
The fact that it could swap to a drone hive module (or say a future bomb bay module) and become a military aircraft means if many civilian agencies and companies buy them then in times of war the civilian module equipped aircrafts exist as an auxiliary force that could be requisitioned and quickly turned to military use if necessary.
Personally I don't get the hype, isn't it basically a tb-001? Its not survivable enough in a contested environment that having a payload bay vs mounting points would matter too much.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
Not everything needs to be a hammer and not every drone needs to be for frontline combat.
Logistics is often overlooked or massively underestimated by armchair generals, but that’s the core bread and butter of a real general’s job.
While the company seem to want to glam this up by hyping its combat potential, I think the area where it will have the most useful impact is on logistics.
Having something unmanned that can haul a heavy payload to troops near the frontline could be fundamentally important, especially if there are limited or no land transport routes.
Rather than mess around with bomb bays and mini drone hives, I think the Jetank will be far more valuable if it can just detach and drop as big of a cargo module as possible to parachute supplies and weapons to troops and FoBs.
If they really want to have a function to also serve a direct combat role, I think they could really open up a niche for themselves with remote mine laying. Both on land and at sea.
Mine warfare is another inglorious field that don’t get much limelight or screen time, but it’s importance is hard to be overstated. Just look at how much trouble they have caused both sides in Ukraine.
A heavy drone with jetank’s payload capability can really be a game changer for mine warfare.
Logistics is often overlooked or massively underestimated by armchair generals, but that’s the core bread and butter of a real general’s job.
While the company seem to want to glam this up by hyping its combat potential, I think the area where it will have the most useful impact is on logistics.
Having something unmanned that can haul a heavy payload to troops near the frontline could be fundamentally important, especially if there are limited or no land transport routes.
Rather than mess around with bomb bays and mini drone hives, I think the Jetank will be far more valuable if it can just detach and drop as big of a cargo module as possible to parachute supplies and weapons to troops and FoBs.
If they really want to have a function to also serve a direct combat role, I think they could really open up a niche for themselves with remote mine laying. Both on land and at sea.
Mine warfare is another inglorious field that don’t get much limelight or screen time, but it’s importance is hard to be overstated. Just look at how much trouble they have caused both sides in Ukraine.
A heavy drone with jetank’s payload capability can really be a game changer for mine warfare.
did you listen to the guancha clip on this? What do you think?
They think it makes sense to build it out w/ civilian customers first until it's mature and cost comes down. I could see it as a nice bomb truck. It would have less payload than H-6K, but should have significantly lower signature. It's also potentially really long ranged (7000 km), which is quite intriguing.
It's also faster than your usual turboprop powered drones like GJ-2 since it has turbofan engine and can fly higher altitude.
Another possibility is becoming a tanker. What if they do some work so that it can carry like 8t of fuel? It has the speed to work as refueling aircraft.
Does anyone knows what Shahid like drone China use beside asn 301 like do they actually use Feilong-300D and loong m9 drones or just for export
Jiutian is useful within the First Island Chain after most of the enemy air-defenses have been suppressed. It can take the role of bomb trucks for glide bombs with 50km+ range and cruise missiles. Just imagine hundreds of them flying constantly to drop bombs on infrastructures on the First Island Chain. Military planners don’t have to worry about pilot fatigues or pilots getting shot down. The whole operation can run 24/7 as long as there are enough ground crews (cheaper and easier to train than pilots)