By Shyam Bhatia
London. China is preparing to field a new class of aerial combat platform: the Jiu Tan (“High Sky”) drone mothership. Designed to launch up to 100 kamikaze drones in flight, this high-altitude UAV reportedly features a 25-metre wingspan, 12-hour endurance, and a range of 7,000 kilometres. First revealed in Chinese state media and subsequently reported by international outlets including Britain’s Daily Telegraph, these capabilities signal a significant evolution in Beijing’s unmanned warfare doctrine.
It reflects China’s intention to dominate the skies over Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the broader Indo-Pacific. It also signals a direct challenge to regional powers like India, and the US and Australia which maintain large fleets, and of course an imminent boost to its military ally Pakistan in asymmetric warfare capabilities.
Analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) have observed that China’s rapid integration of UAVs into its military doctrine reflects a wider strategy of autonomy, mass deployment, and system interoperability. According to IISS, China is not merely developing drones — it is embedding them into every level of combat planning, with special focus on swarm dynamics and long-range saturation capabilities.
Built by Shaanxi Unmanned Equipment Technology, the Jiu Tan is entering final tests ahead of its maiden flight, as reported by the South China Morning Post. With a 16-ton take-off weight and a six-ton payload, it is configured to carry drones, cruise missiles, and PL-12E air-to-air missiles.
Its defining feature will be its ability to deploy a synchronized swarm of attack drones mid-flight to overwhelm enemy air defences, spoof radar systems, and execute coordinated precision strikes with minimal risk to human life. Chinese state media has already released simulations showcasing this capability, echoing tactics increasingly used in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Comparable Technologies
Unlike the American MQ-9 Reaper or RQ-4 Global Hawk, which focus on endurance and reconnaissance, the Jiu Tan combines altitude, stealth, range, and swarm deployment, according to reporting by Caliber.Az.
Israel remains a world leader in drone warfare.
Systems like the Harop loitering munition and Hermes 900 are not only battlefield-proven, but tightly integrated into surveillance and precision strike operations. They have reshaped modern conflict in theatres from Gaza to Nagorno-Karabakh. Publications such as The War Zone have highlighted Israel’s advances in AI-enabled swarm logic and real-time targeting.
While China focuses on mass saturation, Israel excels in AI-guided precision.
Swarm experimentation in Israel involves machine learning, GPS-denied navigation, and real-time decision loops. Israel builds drone networks to enhance control and surgical capability. China appears to be building them for overwhelming force.
India is racing to close a widening gap. Indigenous UAVs like TAPAS-BH-201 and Rustom are still under development, as detailed in Interesting Engineering. The military remains heavily reliant on imported drones — most notably from Israel, which has supplied the bulk of India’s frontline unmanned aerial systems. But all the biggies, like Tatas and Adanis are now contributing significantly, including in AI enabled drones.
Nonetheless, for India, key platforms include the Heron and Searcher UAVs for reconnaissance and surveillance, and the Harop loitering munition for precision strike missions. These systems have played vital roles in intelligence-gathering and cross-border operations, particularly in regions like Ladakh. As recently as May, this month this year, India leased additional Heron drones from Israel to engage the Pakistani attackers and monitor Chinese troop movements in the Himalayas.
Joint ventures with Israeli firms are increasingly shaping India’s drone ecosystem. Adani Defence and Elbit Systems co-produce the Drishti-10 Starliner, while other partnerships explore dual-use logistics drones and swarming technologies. These collaborations underscore India’s dependence on Israeli expertise, not only for hardware, but also for integration, AI systems, and exportable battlefield experience.
While Indian start-ups are making progress in loitering munitions and basic swarm control, they still lack large-scale swarm platform manufacturing. Post the May 7-10 battle with Pakistan, the Indian Government has already initiated steps to boost production of advanced indigenous AI enabled drone systems, for Land, Sea and Air. There is now a unified drone strategy across India’s armed forces.
The China and Pakistan Challenge
China and Pakistan’s military relationship is a longstanding challenge. From the co-production of JF-17 fighter jets to sharing real time satellite imaging and intelligence and joint exercises, their defence cooperation is deep and strategic. While the US tries to buy Pakistan with arms and cash, Pentagon and State Departments are concerned at this partnership, as Pakistan, a rogue state, gets away due also to this reputation, and expectation.
This means the transfer of Chinese drone mothership technology or swarm-enabling systems to Pakistan is not hypothetical. It is the next logical step.
China has previously transferred advanced missiles, aircraft, and surveillance platforms. Enabling Pakistan to field drone swarms aligns with Beijing’s broader strategy of counterbalancing Indian dominance in South Asia.
A drone mothership operating from western China, or coordinated through Chinese assets at Gwadar, could allow Pakistan to launch a saturation drone strike across the LoC, targeting radar stations, airbases, and communication infrastructure. These strikes would be difficult to trace in real time, allowing both states to exploit ambiguity. Pakistan would of course would follow its policy of Do and Deny.
Pakistan’s existing drone fleet, including the Burraq armed UAV, already benefits from Chinese inputs. The integration of swarm-launch capability would significantly enhance Islamabad’s strike potential and complicate India’s western defensive planning.
IISS has repeatedly cautioned that China’s UAV development, including loitering munitions and swarm tactics, poses a major challenge to regional air defences, especially those of Taiwan, but by extension any adversary in other contested environments. The Institute notes that China’s commitment to low-cost, autonomous platforms gives it not just a technological advantage, but a doctrinal head start in the coming era of drone-dominated conflict.
Lessons from Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has underlined the impact of drones in modern combat. As reported by The Telegraph, low-cost FPV drones have been credited by some US analysts and officials with causing up to 80 per cent of Russian battlefield casualties. Swarm tactics have proven effective against conventional forces, and China is applying these lessons rapidly.
If deployed in Asia Pacific or the Indian Ocean region,the Jiu Tan would dramatically shift the regional balance, giving China and its allies an edge in both pre-emptive strike capability and battlefield denial.
India faces both a technological and doctrinal challenge as it considers hard recalibration. India has acquired the General Atomics MQ-9B Predator deal from the United States, but that offers a short-term boost in surveillance and limited strike capability. It won’t close the gap with China, but it buys time.
Building Indigenous
For indigenous options current start-ups and public-sector players have begun work on loitering munitions and drone swarms. But development so far has been piecemeal. Pakistani terror and military attacks in May though have triggered the Indian Government in taking immediate, serious steps and engage the Private Sector in Developing and Manufacturing Drone Technologies (DMDT) with the state-run institutions and companies like DRDO, BEL, BEML and HAL offering their designs and innovations on a silver platter.
There is now a centralised direction, to coordinate R&D, testing, and deployment across the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Investments in anti-drone technologies, including laser systems, electronic warfare, and radar designed to detect low-signature swarms, additionally are moving into procurement and field-testing.
Finally, diplomacy and alliances matter. Intelligence-sharing with current drone-savvy partners like Israel and the US could be vital, especially in swarm control, AI integration, and battlefield resilience.
India doesn’t have to mirror China’s path. But it does need to shape its own options, and the Prime Minister and NSA are ensuring this.
