China steps up drone race with AK-47 chopper drones
China has rolled out its huge stealth drones and smaller unmanned aircraft, which it says can be armed with AK-47s or any other weapon the client wants, as the country gets ready to vie for a share of the US-dominated UAV market.
The drones were unveiled earlier this week among other exhibits at the China Airshow, the country’s main aerospace industry exhibition, held in the southern city of Zhuhai.
Grabbing the visitors’ attention was the new CH-7 or Caihong (Rainbow)-7 stealth combat drone. With a wingspan of 22 meters (72 feet), it’s larger than most modern attack jets and is said to be capable of traveling at speeds of over 800 km/h (almost 500 mph) at altitudes of up to 13,000 m (over 46,000 ft).
