Chinese engineers bring artillery-launched drones from concept to life

Chinese drones survived launch forces 3,000 times their own weight and travelled more than 10km in seconds, tests show

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The new drone will be fired in a similar way to this live-fire drill carried out by the Chinese army in Tibet as its tensions with India elevated following a deadly clash on the disputed Himalayan border in 2020.Photo: WEIBIO

Published: 6:00pm, 20 Jun 2025

After 12 years of technical hurdles and scepticism, China has successfully tested artillery-launched drones capable of surviving the crushing load in a 155mm (6 inches) cannon shell.

Five live-fire trials at a western test base confirmed the drones endured launch forces exceeding 3,000 times their own weight – comparable to 35 adult African elephants on a person.

The advance centres on a pyrotechnic ejection mechanism co-developed by the Shaanxi Applied Physics and Chemistry Research Institute, the Chinese air force, and defence contractor Norinco.

This highly reliable but low-cost system orchestrates a sequence of precisely timed detonations to separate the drone from its artillery shell mid-flight while shielding it from aerodynamic damage – all without electronic controls.

These drones can “reach distances exceeding 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in seconds, multiply flight range, significantly save power consumption and extend loiter time,” the team, led by senior engineer Huang Yunluan, wrote.

A look inside at the artillery-launched drone system. Photo: Shaanxi Applied Physics and Chemistry Research Institute

First proposed by Chinese military scientists in 2013, a cannon-launching design named Tianyan (“sky eye”) gained attention in a new-concept aircraft competition, according to state-run China News Service.

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