SITREP | A Mothership Featured in an Air Show in November 2024 Will Now Be Tested in June as the First Aircraft Carrier of the Sky
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07 Jun SITREP | A Mothership Featured in an Air Show in November 2024 Will Now Be Tested in June as the First Aircraft Carrier of the Sky

Posted at 20:42h in Analysis, English by

By,

Octavio Perez, Senior Fellow | MSI2

The SS-UAV, also known as Jiu Tan (High Sky or Nine Heavens) or Jiutian Xuannu—the Goddess of War, Sex, and Longevity—will undergo flight testing in June 2025.

 

This massive drone, capable of flying up to 7,000 km and weighing more than 15 tons, features a takeoff payload of 1.1 tons. It can carry up to 100 swarming drones and includes missile pods, making it a formidable addition to China’s high-tech arsenal. Seven months after its debut at the Zhuhai Airshow, the aircraft is now ready to be tested for airworthiness.

This HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) drone serves as an aerial mothership—the airborne equivalent of an aircraft carrier—and represents a new generation of UAVs designed to support China’s 6th-generation fighter jets (JU-36), which are also in testing. This platform enables high-altitude, long-range deployment of drone swarms, offering capabilities for saturation bombing, precision targeting, surveillance, and satellite-linked command and control operations.

Credit: Adobe Stock- Standard license on file.

Aligned with President Xi Jinping’s military modernization agenda, the SS-UAV program has progressed rapidly to support the strategic goals of reunifying Taiwan and asserting control over the South China Sea. Reports indicate that four such platforms have already been built. The recent conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, where drone warfare played a crucial role, likely accelerated China’s urgency to develop this capability. Drones are now considered essential assets in both conventional and asymmetrical warfare scenarios.

Despite its capabilities, the mothership remains vulnerable to advanced air defense systems like THAAD, Patriot PAC-3, and Aegis BMD, all capable of intercepting targets at high altitudes. The PLA will likely need to employ layered air defenses and escort aircraft to protect this strategic asset. Nevertheless, China’s growing investment in drone technology signals a pivotal shift in its approach to Air-Land Battle, backed by a military budget seemingly without limits.

References 

Bunn, G. (2025, May). China unveils world first aerial aircraft carrier capable of deploying hundreds of automated drones instantly. GB News. https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/china-aerial-aircraft-carrier-jiutian-automated-drones

Defense News Aerospace. (2025, May 19). Alert: China to begin flight tests in June 2025 of SS-UAV aerial mothership capable of launching 100 swarm drones. Army Recognition. https://armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2025/alert-china-to-begin-flight-tests-in-june-2025-of-ss-uav-aerial-mothership-capable-of-launching-100-swarm-drones 

The Sun. (2025, May). Watch terrifying vision of secret Chinese drone mothership that launches AI killer swarms – as it takes to skies in days. https://www.the-sun.com/news/14268789/chinese-drone-mothership-killer-swarms/

Trevithick, J. (2024, November). New heavyweight Chinese jet drone looks to be a swarm mothership. The War Zone. https://www.twz.com/air/new-heavyweight-chinese-jet-drone-looks-to-be-a-swarm-mothership

YouTube. (2022, December). [Thomas Ybh. Video about the SS-UAV drone mothership]. https://youtu.be/M35GK1sZD5I

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute (MSI²).

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