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China’s Increasing Global Drone Footprint

Abhishek Kumar Darbey
Abhishek Kumar Darbey is an Associate Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi.

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    Abhishek Kumar Darbey
    November 21, 2024

    China has established the world’ largest Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry. It has become the world’s largest exporter of military UAVs, with its signature models—the Wing Loong and Rainbow Series UAV.1 According to the SIPRI Arms Transfer Database, between 2008 and 2018, China exported a total of 181 fighter/combat drones and 163 strike-capable UAVs. The UAE (22 per cent), Saudi Arabia (19 per cent), Egypt (15 per cent) and Pakistan (14 per cent) have been the most significant recipients of Chinese drones, during this time period.2 According to the SIPRI, China has delivered more than 200 combat drones to 17 countries in the period 2013–2023.3

    Chinese Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) have been used on battlefields in the Middle East and Africa. For instance, the Nigerian Air Force has been using CH-3 fighter drone in operations against Boko Haram, and Saudi Arabia has used Wing Loong II drones in the war against Houthi militias in Yemen. Egypt uses Wing Loong-II fighter drones against militant groups in north Sinai.4 In Iraq, Chinese combat drones carried out 260 air raids against ISIL (ISIS) targets as of mid-2018, with a success rate of nearly 100 per cent.5  Iraq had purchased four CH-4B Rainbow fighter drones in 2015.

    Saudi Arabia has been one of the oldest and regular customers of Chinese drones, and has imported 70 Chinese combat drones. Saudi Arabia first purchased a few CH-4 drones in 2014 and has since acquired at least 15 of the more lethal Wing Loong II drones, with an expressed interest to buy 285 more. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has set up a drone manufacturing unit in Saudi Arabia after the agreement was reached between Xi Jinping and King Salman in February 2017. The state-owned Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company (TAQNIA) and CASC subsidiary Aerospace Long-March International Trade (ALIT) have worked on establishing this manufacturing unit.

    Abu Dhabi was the first export customer for the Wing Loong II drones, and received the first units in 2017.6 Similarly, China sold at least five Wing Loong I drones to UAE in 2011. In early 2017, the UAE purchased five Wing Loong II fighter drones. The Pakistani Air Force purchased five CH-4 Rainbow combat drones in January 2021,7 and in May 2024, Pakistan ordered 10 more CH-4 Rainbow-series of combat drones at around US$ 24 million.8 In 2013, Myanmar purchased 12 CH-3 fighter drones.9 The Serbian military has purchased CH-92A Reconnaissance/Attack drones worth US$ 19.3 million in June 2020.10

    Chinese drones are cheaper than their Western counterparts, and therefore, are more appealing to those countries with limitations of budget. The CH-4 and the Wing Loong 2 are estimated to cost between US$ 1 m and US$ 2 m each, while the US-made Reaper costs US$ 16m and the Predator US$ 4m, according to CSIS, the US-based think tank. China also offers flexible payment terms to interested buyers, and many African buyers pay the amount in terms of oil and other natural resources.11

    China is able to keep pace with the market demands of military drones in terms of innovation and quality, as regards flight control, integrated navigation, relay data link system, sensor technology, among others.12[xii] China has successfully developed dozens of new generation military unmanned aerial vehicles, models and prototypes, including stealth unmanned aerial vehicles, foldable wing unmanned aerial vehicles, short-distance take-off and landing ring-wing unmanned aerial vehicles, micro unmanned aerial vehicles and flying wing unmanned aerial vehicles.13

    In order to increase its market share, China is investing to upgrade its drone manufacturing units. In late 2021, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (Chengfei), a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation, signed an agreement with the Zigong Municipal Government of Sichuan to jointly build ‘the largest domestic UAV industrial base (无人机工业园区)’ worth 10 billion Yuan (US$ 1.55 billion) to manufacture military and commercial UAVs. It got operationalised in 2023.14

    PLA and Military Uses of Drones

    China has a number of UAVs in service with the PLA Rocket Force, PLA Ground Force/Army, PLA Air Force and PLA Navy.15 The PLA is currently equipped with several long-endurance reconnaissance and strike drones. For example, the PLA Air Force’s drone brigade uses the Wing Loong-2 (GJ-2) drone, and the PLA Army uses Rainbow-4 reconnaissance and strike drone. According to Chinese media reports, the PLA Army has begun using KVD002 medium-altitude long-flight reconnaissance and strike drone at the theatre command and group army levels, unveiled in September 2023.16

    The TB-001 drone is not just a reconnaissance and strike drone, but can be used along with the PLA Rocket Force’s anti-ship ballistic missiles.17 In August 2021, the China Central Television (CCTV) disclosed that the PLA Rocket Force had mastered the ability to accurately hit large mobile ships thousands of kilometers away at sea by guiding the DF-21D and DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missiles. China has improved its applications of drone for patrolling its land borders as well as coastlines, and particularly along the Sino-Indian border and Taiwan Strait. 

    PLA’s UAV troops have been deployed in large numbers in the Western Theatre Command. At present, PLA has deployed ‘GJ-2’ drones and ‘Rainbow-4’ drones in the Western Theatre Command for reconnaissance activities along the borders. In 2019, the AV500W reconnaissance and strike integrated helicopter was also deployed on the Tibetan plateau. This unmanned helicopter weighs 450 kilograms and has a ceiling of 6,700 meters. It can carry four small laser-guided air-to-surface missiles to accurately strike enemy personnel and light vehicles.18

    Similarly, China has been using its drones to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance activities in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. Japan and Taiwan reported Chinese drone patrols over their claimed waters. In May 2024, the Japanese Ministry of Defense reported that the WZ-10 UAV flew over the East China Sea and approached Japan.19

    PLA used the BZK-005 and TB-001 drones to fly into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. Both drones have reconnaissance and attack capabilities. The BZK-005 is a large multi-purpose drone with a maximum endurance of 40 hours, and its cruising altitude is 3,000 to 7,000 meters.20 Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed on 25 August 2023 that two Chinese drones flew around Taiwan for nearly 24 hours. The two Chinese drones identified were reconnaissance/attack drone ‘TB001’ and the reconnaissance drone ‘BZK005’.21  In August 2024, a Wing Loong 10 was seen flying along the Vietnamese coastline to the southern city of Nha Trang.22

    In recent times, China has entered into foreign collaborations to develop military drones. On 25 September, Reuters reported that Russian UAV company IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned arms company Almaz-Antey, is working with Chinese specialists to develop a new drone model called Garpiya-3 (G3), which is a 2,000 km range attack drone. Another Russian firm Redlepus TSK Vector Industrial has set up 80-hectare ‘Advanced UAV Research and Manufacturing Base’ in Shenzhen in China that would be able to produce 800 long-range attack drones per year, similar to G3 attack drones. 23

    Conclusion

    The Chinese military is gradually being equipped with drones of increasing lethality and capabilities. Chinese defence universities have special programmes to train PLA soldiers majoring in drone technology and applications. Chinese drone manufacturers such as DJI have captured a significant chunk of global civilian drone market. According to the 2023–2024 China Drone Development Report released by the China Air Transport Association, as of the end of August 2024, nearly 2 million drones were registered in China, an increase of 720,000 from the end of 2023. By 2025, the output of China’s civilian drones is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan.24 Chinese military drones, meanwhile, are widely being used in conflict hotspots across the world, particularly so in Africa and the Middle East. The PLA has intensified the military drones R&D as well as manufacturing activities. Going forward, the global footprint of Chinese military as well as civilian drone programmes is only expected to grow exponentially.

    Views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the Government of India.

    Keywords: 
    China
    Drone

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