First flight of China’s giant drone carrier Jiu Tian signals PLA swarm capacity boost

December 13, 2025

China’s massive aerial drone carrier the Jiu Tian has completed its first flight, adding to the potential swarming capacities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The Jiu Tian, which is itself a large drone, took to the air for the first time in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday. The report did not mention when this took place.

Designed by the First Aircraft Institute of the state-owned aerospace giant Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the carrier drone “leverages independent, integrated technological innovation to deliver core advantages, including heavy payload capacity, high service ceiling, wide speed range and short take-off and landing capabilities”, according to Xinhua.

The flight signified a “breakthrough in China’s large drone technology”, the report said.

The Jiu Tian made its debut at China’s premier Zhuhai air show in November last year. It can reportedly carry up to 100 loitering munitions or small drones, including kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). These can be deployed from both sides of the aircraft’s fuselage, extending its operational range.

It can also carry a range of payloads on eight hardpoints and is capable of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assignments, as well as electronic warfare.

Chinese military commentator and former PLA instructor Song Zhongping said this feature confirmed that the military-civilian dual-use aircraft would be a “drone carrier”, enabling it to execute “swarm attacks” that an adversary’s air defence system would be “unable to defend against”.

He said the Jiu Tian’s “saturation strike capability” would be key to breaching defences, enabling it to “counter enemy air defence interceptions through numerical superiority, and achieve denser penetration of specific targets”.

Song added that, with its flight ceiling reaching 15,000 metres (49,200 feet), the Jiu Tian could attack ground and maritime targets “from high to low, from fast to slow” – a capability he described as “unique globally and highly forward-looking”.

The Jiu Tian measures 16.35 metres in length and has a wingspan of 25 metres, according to Xinhua. With a maximum take-off weight of 16 tonnes and a payload capacity of 6,000kg (13,220lbs), it can stay airborne for 12 hours and has a ferry range of 7,000km (4,350 miles), performance figures the report described as “ranking among the best in its class”.

The drone could be deployed across diverse “civilian applications,” Xinhua said. This includes delivering heavy cargo and precision logistics “to remote mountainous regions and islands” as well as for “rapidly restoring communications and deploying disaster relief equipment during emergency rescue operations”. It can also perform geographic surveys, disaster assessment and mineral exploration.

Beijing is investing substantial resources in developing various types of drones, which are seen as playing a critical role in modern warfare and asymmetric combat – a capability already shown on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Drone operations are seen as pivotal in potential regional conflicts, including those in the Taiwan Strait.

The Jiu Tian adds to China’s stock of advanced drone technology, such as the stealth combat CH-7 and the medium-altitude anti-submarine Wing Loong-X. Some see it as a potential rival to the two dominant American drone models: the RQ-4 Global Hawk and the MQ-9 Reaper.

The Global Hawk can conduct advanced reconnaissance missions at altitudes of up to 18,000 metres and its maximum take-off weight is comparable to that of the Jiu Tian, although it lacks strike capabilities. The Reaper UAV is a medium-altitude, multipurpose aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of around 5 tonnes and designed for designed for multiple roles including reconnaissance and strike missions.