Yesterday, on December 12, 2025, the Chinese mainland’s domestically developed general-purpose large UAV “Jiutian” rose above the runway in its maiden flight. Weighing in at a staggering 16 tonnes, this drone mothership marks a milestone in aerial innovation.
Built with a modular airframe and a heavy-duty payload capacity of six tonnes, Jiutian is engineered for diverse missions. From long-range logistics transport and forest firefighting to meteorological interventions and disaster relief, this versatile platform promises to reshape civil and humanitarian operations worldwide.
But the Jiutian’s ambitions extend into defense. Equipped to carry both air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions, it can also deploy and coordinate swarms of smaller unmanned combat aerial vehicles from its dedicated mission bay. Analysts say this capability could redefine modern warfare by enabling distributed, networked operations at scale.
Industry experts point to the Jiutian as a sign that the future of aviation lies in multi-role, high-payload drones. By blending civilian and military applications, these super-large UAVs open new possibilities for rapid response in emergencies, remote-area logistics, and strategic missions.
With further flight tests and system integrations planned for early 2026, all eyes are on Jiutian’s next steps. The era of the drone mothership has just begun.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
