China’s anti-drone defences to take centre stage at the Zhuhai air show
- Developers say system combines missile technology and AI to ward of unmanned flying vehicles
- The J-20 stealth fighter will also be on display on the ground for the first time
The systems are designed to detect and intercept swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at low altitudes and combine air-defensive, artificial intelligence and anti-missile technology.
They will be on show for the 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province until Sunday.
State-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the country’s biggest missile maker and air-defence developer, said its system, the ZR-1500, integrated early-warning detection, command and control, as well as interception missiles.
CASIC official Wang Wengang told state-owned Global Times that the system combined portable missiles from the PLA’s active HQ-17AE short-range missile defences, sophisticated radars, and its multiple purpose unmanned vehicle to form a “cost-saving, tight, dragnet defensive network to detect and intercept incoming aircraft and drones”.
“In the system, the ZR-1500 unmanned vehicle just needs two people to operate in the rear area, but it could support an 11-member infantry with firepower, intelligence and logistic supplies on the front line,” Wang was quoted as saying.