BEIJING – China’s new carrier-based drone, dubbed the Sharp Sword, willappear in the October 1 National Day parade in Beijing and is expected toenter service before the end of the year.
Unnamed sources in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy told the SouthChina Morning Postlinkrecentlythat final preparations were being made for the Sharp Sword drone to becommissioned before the end of the year.
“The use of drones for aircraft carriers and warships is the trend [fornavies] around the world,” a source from the PLAN said. “China is noexception.”
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The Sharp Sword is one of two drones to grow out of Shenyang AircraftDesign Institute’s AVIC 601-S stealth UAV testbed. Built in conjunctionwith the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and ShenyangAerospace University, the program produced a slew of drone designs, one ofwhich was the Sharp Sword. The other, the Dark Sword, was touted as theworld’s first sixth generation aircraft at its unveiling last year, Sputnikreportedlink.
