CCTV recently released close-up photos of China’s WZ-8 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft at the Zhuhai Airshow. The WZ-8, which stands for Wuzhen-8, where “Wuzhen” means “unmanned reconnaissance”, was previously unveiled at the 2019 National Day parade.
On the profile beside the WZ-8 UAV at the airshow, it is written that Wuzhen-8 UAV: a high-altitude, high-speed unmanned reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by China itself, which can be used for battlefield reconnaissance, target destruction assessment, etc.
The maximum flight speed of the WZ-8 UAV is more than Mach 3, which is faster than most air defense missiles. The liquid rocket power system of the WZ-8 can not only be launched multiple times, but also can adjust the thrust and control the fuel consumption, so that it can conduct effective close reconnaissance of enemy targets and guide firepower to carry out attacks. If necessary, it can also be disguised as a high-speed missile to carry out suicide attacks on enemy aircraft, aircraft carriers and other high-value targets, according to the previous speculation.
The WZ-8 drone has two lugs on its back, which are rumored to be for use with the H-6N strategic bomber.
The range of the improved H-6N has been improved to over 8,000 km. The carrying and release of the WZ-8 UAV can greatly expand the detection and surveillance range of the Chinese military, fully compensating for the possible blind spots of artificial satellites and long-range drones.
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