China's High-Speed Drone Is Rocket-Powered

A nice side-on image showing the WZ-8's sleek profile and landing gear. Chinese internet

Warzone/The Drive: China's High-Speed Drone Is Rocket-Powered And All About Doing What Satellites Can't

The aircraft is designed to rapidly gather intel in contested areas by surprise and especially when key satellites are no longer operational.

China's big 70th-anniversary parade marking the founding of the PRC has come and gone. There were a number of revelations, some of which we are still analyzing, but the biggest ones were in the unmanned space. In the days leading up to the parade, we had covered both of the most impressive unmanned vehicles that were to be displayed. It's time to follow up with our analysis now that we have seen them in far greater detail. We posted our analysis on the GJ-11 Sharp Sword UCAV earlier today, now here are my takeaways from the official unveiling of the WZ-8—also referred to as the DR-8—high-speed reconnaissance drone.

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WNU Editor: This looks like China's "back-up" plan in the event that its spy satellites are no longer functional.