A new U.S. combat drone under development was recently pointed out as flawed by Chinese researchers, with some clues suggesting the model is not good at aerial combat.
Chinese aerospace engineers say they have identified key performance limitations of the newly developed U.S. stealth combat drone, which may pose a threat to PLA forces in a conflict, Chinese media reported Sept. 19, citing the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
According to the report, Chinese aerospace engineers have found, based on some photos, publicly available information and reverse engineering software, that the new U.S. unmanned fighter jet, the XQ-58A Valkyrie, is not good at aerial warfare. For example, according to their calculations, the model can only withstand a pull of about 1.7 times the force of gravity during a turnaround. In a melee, most fighters need to brake against forces 7 times or more the force of gravity.
While the researchers say this is a drawback, the unusual design also marks a major breakthrough in conventional technology for the U.S. military, indicating progress in other areas, the report notes.
Lu Yuanjie, a senior engineer at the Shenyang Aircraft Research and Design Institute, said in the paper that U.S. designers are trying to fit as much equipment and fuel as possible inside the UAV while keeping its wings, engines and overall size as small as possible. These design priorities may indicate that the U.S. military prioritized the weapon’s surveillance capabilities and range for suicide missions.
Notably, in a previous Chinese military study, it was mentioned that the U.S. could deploy a large number of XQ-58A drones on small islands or ships east of Taiwan.
With rocket-assisted flight systems, these drones could quickly form large groups that would pose a serious threat to PLA forces of mainland China in the event of a conflict, and they could even use stealth technology to attack some targets in mainland China, or to provide support for the Raptor (F-22) or Lightning (F-35). They could even use stealth technology to attack some targets on the Chinese mainland, or clear the way for a Raptor (F-22) or Lightning (F-35) attack.
Guo Zheng, a professor at China’s National University of Defense Technology, said in a paper published in February that although the XQ-58A is still in the testing and verification phase in the short term, the accumulation of relevant technologies and the verification of application models will affect the basic style of future air warfare, to which China should pay due attention.
The U.S. XQ-58A drone has made six test flights since its debut in 2019, and with a relatively low cost of $2 million, it is expected to achieve mass production and deployment.