According to the latest satellite imagery, multiple GJ-11 Sharp Sword stealth flying-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) deployed by China for several weeks between August and early September at Shigatse Air Base, used both as a military and a civilian airport in western China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, according to a report in The War Zone.

This deployment shows that the GJ-11 may have been prepared for the advanced testing phase or achieved a semi-operational capability. The Sharp Sword is a strong sign of China’s increasing investment in stealthy flying-wing drones, unlike the US military’s seems reluctant to field such designs publicly. These images, which were published in a report on October 10, have come from Planet Labs’ archives, which show at least three GJ-11 drones po

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