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China's military weapons
ChinaMilitary

Chinese military plays game of drones from Himalayas to South China Sea

  • The technology is being deployed at high altitudes and underwater for testing in a variety of combat operations and strategies
  • Drones are increasingly seen by the world’s largest armed forces as essential to meet new challenges in the region

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A WZ-7 surveillance drone on display at China’s Zhuhai air show in 2021. Photo: Xinhua
Minnie Chan
Drones are playing a growing role in China’s military operations, from the Himalayan border areas to the depths of the seas off its eastern and southern coasts, as the People’s Liberation Army embeds the technology in nearly every sphere of operations.
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Recent satellite images, as well as media and academic reports, have confirmed a significant stepping up in the deployment of drones, developed for an array of uses, in joint combat operations and strategies.

Chinese state media have showed a range of drones undergoing high-altitude testing in the Himalayas, with a focus on studying joint operation tactics with different troops on the ground, intelligence collection and delivery of supplies.

And the Eastern Theatre Command – responsible for the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, as well as underwater operations in the South China Sea – has many advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) and reconnaissance drones, according to state media and academics with a military background.

China’s pilotless technology goes back to the 1960s when, like many Western countries, it started turning old fighter jets into target drones for pilot training and weapons testing. The first home-grown target aircraft was delivered in 1966, according to an early PLA Daily report.

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The PLA established its first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron in 2011, with nearly 70 hypersonic drones based on the air force’s retired J-6 and J-7 platforms at its base in the northwestern province of Gansu, according to observations by the Taiwanese defence ministry.

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