At the Zhuhai Aerospace Exhibition, the public and military experts were able to take a closer look at China's newest rocket-powered supersonic drone
the WZ-8, or Wuzhen-8, with its Impressive tactical features
The WZ-8 is a high-altitude and high-speed UAV for reconnaissance missions
and it's a new near-space aircraft that mixes aviation and aeronautic technologies
Little official information exists about the WZ-8, which was first shown at a military parade in Beijing in 2019
This UAV can gather high-resolution images of targets under heavy defense of the enemy
and provide valuable intelligence and information for all units to conduct battle damage assessments
the AVIC said in a statement sent to the Global Times
The drone on display has a black coating
which has a very flat shape and seemed to some observers to utilizes the wave-rider design to facilitate high-sonic flight at the edge of the atmosphere
The supersonic unmanned aerial vehicle is air-launched, with Xian H-6N bombers acting as the launch platform
It is believed to be powered by a pair of rocket engines, and is described as being able to operate at “near-space” altitudes
From the appearance of Wuzhen-8, its aerodynamic shape is similar to that of D-21
Both adopt a tailless delta wing layout, which is obviously very suitable for supersonic flight
However, the ramjet used by the D-21, while the Wuzhen-8 seems to use a rocket engine
There are two side-by-side small nozzles at the rear of the aircraft, and the aircraft has no engine air intake
This high-speed Chinese drone, which reportedly first flew in September 2015 is launched from an H-6 carrier aircraft
It is thought that the WZ-8 can also dismantle the reconnaissance equipment and change it into various warheads, such as conventional high explosives
Warheads, EMP warheads, mother-and-child warheads and even nuclear warheads
Therefore, WZ-8 is not just a simple UAV, it can perform a variety of combat missions by changing its payload, and even directly use it as a missile