After 12 years of technical hurdles and scepticism, China has successfully tested artillery-launched drones capable of surviving the crushing load in a 155mm (6 inches) cannon shell.
Five live-fire trials at a western test base confirmed the drones endured launch forces exceeding 3,000 times their own weight – comparable to 35 adult African elephants on a person.
The advance centres on a pyrotechnic ejection mechanism co-developed by the Shaanxi Applied Physics and Chemistry Research Institute, the Chinese air force, and defence contractor Norinco.
This highly reliable but low-cost system orchestrates a sequence of precisely timed detonations to separate the drone from its artillery shell mid-flight while shielding it from aerodynamic damage – all without electronic controls.
These drones can “reach distances exceeding 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in seconds, multiply flight range, significantly save power consumption and extend loiter time,” the team, led by senior engineer Huang Yunluan, wrote.
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