Did China Copy a Reaper Drone and Arm It With an Anti-Ship Missile?
It looks like Beijing has continued its long policy of stealing, and then making changes to, American military systems.
China has launched and now flown a new large, anti-ship missile firing reconnaissance drone reportedly able to perform air-to-air precision strikes, stand-off ground attack and even anti-radiation attacks.
“The WJ-700 unmanned aircraft is characterized by its large payload and ability to launch large munitions from outside hostile anti-aircraft fire coverage zone,” the Chinese government-backed Global Times reports.
The new Chinese drone, perhaps not by accident, looks a lot like the U.S. Reaper drone which has itself been massively expanding its weapons envelope to incorporate new air-to-air weapons such as the AIM-9X and more precision-guided air-dropped bombs as well. The combat-tested Reaper has received new mission-extending added fuel tanks, a universal weapons interface with common technical standards to accommodate new weapons and a range of new armaments as Air Force developers continue to envision an expanded, longer-term operational role for the non-stealthy drone.