China has announced its UAV mothership/carrier, a UAV
capable of launching 100 drones. Well,
that’s it. We’re doomed. I don’t know about you but I’m starting right
now to learn to speak Chinese because I’m certain this means the US will be
conquered within a year or two. The
Chinese can’t be stopped and this proves it.
Some Chinese reports suggest an endurance of 12 hours and a range of 7,000 km.
The world's first drone mothership, Jui Tian, took to the skies for its first-ever flight on December 11th, 2025, in the Pucheng region of Shaanxi province in China. The massive remotely piloted jet carries up to 100 drones, which it can launch while airborne to reach faraway targets. Able to take off with a payload over 13,200 pounds and with a wingspan of 82 feet, Chinese military aviation analyst Fu Qianshao noted that it can carry more weapons and equipment than modern fighter jets and bombers. It has designated hardpoints for guided missiles and bombs on top of the 100 drones.[1]
Some Chinese reports suggest an endurance of 12 hours and a range of 7,000 km.
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No doubt about it.
This is a weapon system that is absolutely invincible.
The fact that it is large, slow, non-maneuverable, and not
particularly stealthy, all of which are the definition of a target drone,
should in no way diminish the awesomeness of the aircraft.
Similarly, the fact that the hundred UAVs it carries would
each be on the order of a foot or two wingspan and something around a one pound
payload which makes them incredibly short ranged and of no significant
lethality relative to a ship should in no way diminish the sheer terror these
tiny UAVs inspire.
And, of course, none of these miniature UAVs can mount any
sort of useful sensor so, unless they have a very close controlling/sensing
aircraft nearby (how does a controlling aircraft survive near a combat ready
ship?), they’re blind and helpless but that doesn’t diminish the fearsomeness
of the system, at all.
Being that small and with that small a payload, they
certainly can’t have any defense against electronic warfare but that doesn’t
lessen the war-winning capability of these tiny machines, in the least.
As I consider all this, I can only conclude that we should
preemptively surrender.
[1]Redstate website, “China's Giant New 'Flying Aircraft
Carrier' Completes Debut Flight”, Ward Clark, 30-Dec-2025,
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/12/30/chinas-giant-new-flying-aircraft-carrier-completes-debut-flight-n2197616
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/12/30/chinas-giant-new-flying-aircraft-carrier-completes-debut-flight-n2197616
Could this defeatist title be considered as seditious ? Do you risk the wrath of SecDef Hedseth like Senator Kelly ?
ReplyDeleteI think it may be sarcasm.
Delete"Do you risk the wrath of SecDef Hedseth "
DeleteHe risks MY wrath for his, thus far, largely ineffective tenure.
Absolutely right, time to surrender or get rid of all USN ships and turn over everything into drones.....Ive been assured numerous times that all warships are just sitting ducks and that any $2000 drone can positively sink a DDG....yes, that's true!
ReplyDeleteAND that's why Ive pretty much given up explaining military weapon systems on social media, it's pointless......same for fighter jets or tanks, get rid of everything and just buy drones, that's it, that's the solution to everything on social media.
Agreed. Ive quit trying as well. Now I just send them here to the archives! 🤣🤣
DeleteHAPPY someone gets the sarcasm, I try to educate when I'm on social media BUT yeah, it's a lost cause 99% of the time. I mean, seriously, someone told me that a small $2000 drone can sink a DDG, where do we go from there? Probably a carrier needs a $10000 drone to be sunk? What do you say to that? How can you have a serious conversation when anything that's not a drone is just a waste of time and money? Then they bring up Ukraine and I say:" sure they use drones but then explain why they still want tanks, artillery, fighter jets.....: then they just start insulting you so there goes that conversation....
DeleteOk, back to regular programming!
ReplyDeleteI do think one application to be saturation/minefield kind of situation because without targeting, not sure how it all works, maybe some magical AI is inside but apart from just landing and waiting for a tank or whatever to come by, how does it work? So it's kind of a glorified cluster bomb or mine filed disperser....
Has for ships? I guess it could damage AEGIS radar panels for a mission kill but how does it get that close?!? SM2 or SM3 or SM6 should take out the carrier way before it gets that close....
Now, sarc aside- Nicos use of the word "saturation" does make sense. I could see this as being potentially useful, but not at all in respect to the USN or naval warfare.
ReplyDeleteExpecting the Chinese first moves in retaking Taiwan to be gaining air superiority over the islsnd and eliminating any local USN threats, having some of these loitering over or close toTaiwan, ready to unleash the drones and surface to ground missiles on surviving SAM sites, troop/tank concentrations, beach defenses, etc, as they appear, seems like a more reasonable possible CONOP for it. It's still quite vulnerable, but after gaining air superiority and a day or three of a successful air campaign, it could be viable...
@EX. IF mother carrier can get close enough, could you drop 100s to 1000s of these to deny or shut down a port? It would ruin your day and seriously slow down any port operations. It's really just a fancy smarter? cluster bomb, the issue as CNO said, it's how to get it to survive getting close enough? I think that's part that China or really the advocates for these mother drone carriers haven't really worked out....I don't think you can use it the way they are advocating, it really has to be a pretty much degraded SAM and AIR defense for this to operate....
Delete"after gaining air superiority and a day or three of a successful air campaign, it could be viable.."
DeleteIf you've established air superiority, ANYTHING is viable! Think about it, though. How useful is a bunch of tiny UAVs with miniscule payloads? That's not much firepower. At that point, artillery is the best combination of cheap and effective.
"it really has to be a pretty much degraded SAM and AIR defense for this to operate..."
DeleteIf you've established air supremacy, ANYTHING will work and this would be the least lethal and effective "anything".
"That's not much firepower. At that point, artillery is the best combination of cheap and effective."
DeleteOh agreed. I'm with you about the lack of true drone usefulness, in spite of everyone screaming how warfare is forever changed ad nauseum. We know that it's not useful or viable vs the USN, but the Chinese must think there is a use since they're building it. Maybe I'm wrong in this, but I usually give the Chinese a bit more credit as far as having a CONOP and a clear plan for their forces and individual systems. After all, I haven't seen them building Zumwalts, LCS, or anything else that's blatantly foolish recently- but maybe this thing is. Maybe not. But if used in a fairly permissive aerial environment, in the days leading up to, and perhaps even during the actual invasion, before artillery comes into play... as a loitering, use on demand magazine for precision strikes OR an area bombardment... it seems like it has potential. Especially if you consider the drone payload could be different.... instead of 100, what about 25 or 50 significantly heavier ones, or some kind of mix. And perhaps the drones aren't weaponized at all, but are just for cheap disposable single-sensor surveillance? Thatd fly ( pardon the pun) in line with one of your fiction pieces... And even if they are kamikaze drones, I mean, I'd think that, even after achieving air superiority, and a few days of heavy air and missile strikes, there will still be plenty of large and small ground targets. Tanks, other ground vehicles, radar and comm sites, even individual troops. So while the drones this thing will supposedly carry arent going to be, as you said- exceptionally lethal, perhaps they see value in them from the Ukraine playbook (??). Sorry to ramble, im just thinking out loud, trying to figure out it's realistic purpose...
@EX, yes, agree. I'm in the same camp, I could be wrong too and reading too much into what the Chinese are doing, maybe they will go down the path of US DoD and order 100s of these mother ships before knowing if they are useful or not BUT I do get the feeling reading Chinese media that they are throwing a lot of "stuff" on the wall and waiting to see what sticks. I think this can survive and be useful in a permissive military situation and Chinese media does say they are also looking at civilian/SAR/natural disaster use so let's see what happens, I'm not ready to dismiss this right away.
Delete"Chinese must think there is a use since they're building it."
DeleteOf course, the use may be propaganda, foreign arms sales, or land combat. I have no idea whether a bunch of tiny UAVs would be useful in land combat. I'm only looking at the naval applications.
Off topic but doom. With the backlog of maintenance work and a supposed focus on the Pacific, you'd think the Navy would try to shift some business to Mare Island to prevent a dry dock closure.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Ui9Pyo2B4
The closing seems less like a Navy issue and more of a California regulations and quality of life issue.
DeleteOh no! Such horrors! The mighty United States is doomed indeed!!
ReplyDeleteI will now quake in fear and hope... that the AIM-174B Gunslinger missiles can kill the invincible Jiu Tian drone mothership before they can launch their drones!!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-174B_Gunslinger
https://theaviationist.com/2025/05/14/aim-174b-gunslinger/
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2025/06/meet-the-aim-174b-gunslinger-the-navys-300-mile-range-air-to-air-missile/
On a side note the terrifying Jiu Tian drone mothership has little to no stealth abilities (that I can see) so our F/A-18 should be able to unleash their AIM-174 on them (the size of the AIM-174 means that the F-35 can not carry them internally and if they do it will ruin their stealth)
https://www.slashgear.com/2063974/china-jiu-tian-drone-aircraft-carrier-first-flight/
https://www.cnbctv18.com/world/jiu-tian-ss-uav-china-drone-mothership-with-capacity-to-carry-100-uavs-details-19608728.htm
https://thundertiger-europe.com/china-jiu-tian-drone-mothership-first-flight/
So maybe the satellite linked drones would make great targets for use of the AIM-174B missiles...
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/us-navys-aim-174b-missile-new-gunslinger-indo-pacific-bw-082825
Love the tongue-in-cheek observations!
ReplyDeleteGAB
A giant, slow-moving plane that launches and controls 100 small drones?
ReplyDeleteSomeone in China is spending too much time on their Xbox playing Ace Combat
I think everyone's snark on this is misplaced and highly ill-advised.
ReplyDeleteThink what this weapon could do to the Macy's parade next November.
The giant helium balloons are sitting ducks. The cultural devastation could be catastrophic.
We live in dangerous times.
Lutefisk
Cue Herb Morrison:
DeleteAnd here we are ladies and gentlemen, we are out on the street now, out on Park Avenue West.
The first Peanuts character is coming into view. And what a lovely sight it is. Red Baron Snoopy sitting on his doghouse.
And behind Snoopy is Lucy with her football, and in the distance is baseball playing Charlie Brown.
They are bobbing majestically towards us.
High in the sky I can see a large multi-engine airplane, a number of small objects seem to have been cast out of the belly.
The objects are floating down, they appear to be drones.
Perhaps it is a Thanksgiving drone show?
The drones are circling the parade, they don't seem to be organizing in any aesthetically pleasing way....
.... oh no! The drones are attacking the balloons!
Winnie the Pooh has collapsed under an angry swarm. Get this Charlie! Are you getting this Charley?
Snoopy's doghouse has burst, he is hurtling down to the street in a flat spin, clouds of helium are washing over the crowded streets.
Oh the humanity!
The crowd is screaming in horror like a chorus of terrified chipmunks!
Lucy's football is deflating, I don't how much longer i can stay on the....
Lutefisk
While very minor now, it's potentially a worrying asset in the future.
ReplyDeleteFor a start, things often evolve and get better over time.
Next, it's unlikely meant to be a big strike platform against the US military. What if it were deployed at the Vietnam border, or they somehow got it over the Himalayas? And if you're on the lookout for the big anti ship missiles, last thing you want is an extra 100+ targets cluttering your radar.
And remember the balloon the US had to shoot down (and only with difficulty)? what if China released several hundred of them, and each one had hundreds of drones? You never know, because China is world leading in drones.
If nothing else, it shows China is still innovating, which is not a good sign.
Andrew