Chinese Six-Rotor Drones Pass Flight And Bombing Trials

China has developed a six-rotor drone made from carbon fiber which has successfully passed flying and bombing tests, according to  a state-run defense technology news website.

All three of the drones, with body, rotors and undercarriage all made with carbon fiber composite materials, were designed and manufactured by Kang Ben Company, the fourth research institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The drones passed tests including vertical takeoff/landing, hovering in one place, manual flight mode and following a predetermined route. The drones also passed tests of carrying and launching missiles.

Kang Ben has continued to work on the drone's design to increase its mobility and for it to be able to be assembled and taken apart again rapidly, in order for it it to be easily transportable and more reliable.

J-20 Carried New PL-13 Missile During Recent Trials

Numerous photos emerged online earlier this year showing the J-20 — China's first generation fighter — carrying two types of missiles outside of its weapons bay during a test flight, Now it is reported that one of the missiles may be the PL-13, the nation's fifth generation air-to-air missile.

With similar capabilities to the AIM-9X missile of the United States, the J-20 carrying a PL-13 missile would be able to counter the F-22 stealth fighter in a potential air war against the United States, the paper said. The aerodynamic rudder of the PL-13 looks very similar to the Russian-built R-27, but the design of its strake wing is more like a R-77, another Russian-designed missile.

As the PL-13 can reach hypersonic speeds of Mach 5, it is nearly impossible for aircraft to evade the missile after it is launched. With a combination of the Active Phased Array Radar and the PL-13 air-to-air missile, none of the US-built fighters currently used by the Japan Air Self Defense Force is able to match the J-20 in a potential air war over the disputed Diaoyu (Diaoyutai or Senkaku) islands.

J-20 With PL-13 Missile

Li Li, a Chinese military analyst told the paper that this combination will be more powerful with the support of early warning aircraft. With the data provided by early warning aircraft such as the KJ-200 and KJ-2000, the J-20 will be able to detect the location of targets more than hundreds of kilometers away.

US To Build Military Base On Saipan To Counter PLA Missiles

The island of Saipan — an unincorporated territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean — will be reconstructed as a military base to prepare for a potential missile attack by the People's Liberation Army over the Second Island Chain, according to John Reed, a US military analyst, in an article written for the website of the Foreign Policy magazine.

The Second Island Chain is a series of island groups stretching from northern Japan to the Bonin and Marianas islands. It is the second defense line of the United States to prevent the expansion of China's maritime power in the Eastern Pacific after the First Island Chain, which extends from Alaska to the Philippines, Reed said. Meanwhile, Guam is currently the most important US military base in the Western Pacific with the Apra Harbor and Andersen Air Force Base.

If a conflict were occur, China would likely attack the naval base at Guam with its newly developed DF-21D anti-shipping missiles, Reed said. He added that other islands within the area such as Saipan and Tinian should be used as support bases to the US Air Force and Navy under the Pentagon's Air-Sea Battle concept. He said that if the main base at Guam is destroyed, the US can still disperse its force into those small, bare bones bases in the Pacific.

China's Emergency Response Satellite

 China's Kuaizhou-1 satellite launch was reported by the US website NASA Space Flight just two hours after it was launched on Sept. 25 because of its potential to be operated by the People's Liberation Army as a weapon.

Rui Barbosa, an editor of the space news website, said the Kuaizhou-1, also known as KZ-1, was designed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation based in Beijing and was launched at 04:37 UTC on Wednesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia, with no advance announcement to the media. Barbosa said the satellite was built at Harbin Institute of Technology.

Chinese sources said the satellite is intended to supply information to aid response in the even of a natural disaster, but Barbosa said there may be more to it than that.

 China's Kuaizhou-1 Satellite

A Chinese analyst told the People's Daily's Global Times newspaper that the "quick response satellite system" is a concept introduced by the United States under which a small tactical satellite is launched immediately a regional conflict begins.

These satellites are intended for temporary military operations and are small, perhaps the size of a dishwasher, and relatively inexpensive. As no official photos or video footage of the KZ-1 satellite have been released, it is possible the KZ-1 may be used by PLA as a test platform for such "quick response" satellites, Barbosa said.

J-31 Stealth Fighter Designed For Export Says PLA Admiral

The J-31, China's second prototype fifth-generation stealth fighter, designed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, will be produced for the export market instead of for China's air force and navy, according to Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong of the PLA Navy in a People's Daily report.

While the Washington-based Strategy Page said the J-31 has the potential to become a future carrier-based stealth fighter for the PLA Navy, Zhang said it is unlikely the plane will serve aboard Chinese aircraft carriers. Unlike the J-20 designed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, the J-31 was never a development program intended for the Chinese military, Zhang said.

Like the FC-1/JF-17 Xiaolong or Thunder multirole fighter designed jointly by China and Pakistan, the J-31 will be most likely be a model intended for export to China's allies and strategic partners, which may include countries like North Korea and Iran. Chinese fighters are a much cheaper alternative to US fighters for developing countries, even those which are able to buy military hardware from the United States.

J-31 Stealth Fighter

A model of the J-31 was first displayed at the Zhuhai Air Show in Guangdong province last November, where it was described as a fighter to open China's overseas market. It was called the "Advanced Fighter Concept," according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The model was displayed again at the opening of the Beijing international Aviation Exposition on Sept. 25, under the new name of "China Concept Fighter." Sources from AVIC told People's Daily however that the "China Concept Fighter" is not the J-31.

J-20 Spotted With New Mysterious Missile

A new mysterious type of missile has been spotted on the second prototype of the J-20 — China's first stealth fighter — with a serial number of 2002, reports the state run People's Daily, citing a video clip released on Chinese military websites.

According to video clip, the missile is white in color and unlike the F-22 Raptor fighter of the United States Air Force, which holds its missile racks inside the internal weapons bays, the J-20 carries this mysterious missile outside of its fuselage.

J-20 's  New Missile 

Experts claim that after the J-20 fighter takes off, the missile will remain outside the fuselage even after the missile bays are closed. Song Xinzhi, a Chinese military analyst, said that two missiles were seen outside the missile bays during the flight. One is a regular medium-range air-to-air missile with wings, the other is a new missile without any wings.

India Is Designing and Developing Its First Realistic ICBM

India is beginning to design, develop a new, longer range nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) local media reported.

A scientist with the Defense Research and Development Organization, India’s military technology agency, told that DRDO is secretly developing a missile with an initial range of 6,000 km (3,728 miles). Currently, India’s longest range ballistic missile is the Agni-V, which has a range of about 5,000 km.

The same source said that the missile that is under development as the Agni-VI, but which will ultimately be called Surya, could eventually be extended to have a range of 10,000 km (6,213 miles).

Earlier this week DRDO chief Avinash Chander had said that India was capable of developing a missile with a range of 10,000 km within two and a half years if necessary. He also suggested that Delhi was not interested in utilizing this capability.

 Agni-VI

“Range is the least problematic area,” Chander said, according to The Times of India. “We have the full capability to go to any range…it's just a question of additional propellant and larger motors. But, as of now, we don't see the need for a higher range.”

The reports comes just days after DRDO successfully tested the Agni-V for the second time. The first test was back in April of last year. The Agni-V allows India to hold many of China’s largest cities under threat from its nuclear arsenal for the first time. As such, it is often called the "China killer" by India’s media. 

Although the Indian media often refers to the Agni-V as an ICBM, its range of 5,000 km is slightly less than the international standard for an ICBM, which is 5,500 km. Thus, Surya (Agni-VI) will technically be India’s first ICBM.