The China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology (CAEIT) has released a video of a test involving a series of 48 armed drones launched from the back of a truck.
Il South China Morning Post describes in detail the characteristics of this disturbing-looking Chinese weapon. A swarm of suicide drones coming out of what looks like gun barrels.
A cloud of explosive suicide drones
The drones visible in the video are launched from the vehicle and immediately open retractable wings that support them in flight. Troops on the ground then identify drone targets on a tablet device. The Chinese weapon essentially creates a "cloud" of drones equipped with explosives, which heads towards the target ready to crash into it in a kamikaze attack.
So far, few details have emerged on the actual test of this new Chinese weapon. Each unit is just 1,20m long and weighs around 9kg. It can spend two hours flying and approaching targets at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour.
Blind the enemy
A different demonstration shows drones also being launched from a helicopter, like paratroopers.
The functions of this new Chinese weapon "are still in the early stage of development and there are still technical problems that need to be resolved," a People's Liberation Army insider told the South China Morning Post. “One of the main concerns is the communications system and how to prevent it from crashing.”
Experts fear that drone swarms could be used to confuse and overwhelm air defense systems by being able to quickly approach them from multiple angles.
