The U.S. has had air supremacy for years, but the Chinese aim to change that with “Sharp Sword,” a stealth drone that made its first test flight on Friday, according to several media outlets.
The People’s Daily was the first to publish pictures of the drone in flight, which spent roughly 20 minutes in the air and looks remarkably similar to the U.S. X-47B drone developed by Northrop Grumman and used by the U.S. Navy.
Potential uses for such an aircraft range from conducting electronic surveillance to launching missile strikes, according to the Associated Press.
The Sharp Sword stealth drone, or “Lijian,” was designed jointly by the Hongdu Aviation Industry Group and Shenyang Aviation Corporation, Russia Today reported.
China’s new stealth drone is the third high-profile foray into stealth aircraft in recent years, following the J-20 and J-31 stealth fighter jets.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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