Recently, the well-known American defense media "Breaking Defense" published an article saying that China shined at the UAE UAV Defense Technology Exhibition, showing a variety of UAV platforms, and the booth area is second only to the host and surpassing the United States.
China demonstrated a variety of advanced unmanned platforms
At the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX) held in Abu Dhabi, Chinese companies displayed a variety of advanced unmanned platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ships, and unmanned vehicles, which attracted widespread attention from the international community.
According to the organizers, China is the second largest exhibitor in this year's exhibition, after the host country, the United Arab Emirates, while the United States is in third place.
This phenomenon reflects China's rapid development in the field of unmanned systems, as well as the high recognition of Chinese products in the Middle East.
Chinese exhibitors include well-known domestic enterprises in the fields of aviation, aerospace, shipbuilding, and weapons, such as AVIC, China Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd., and North Industry Co., Ltd. Among them, AVIC exhibited a large unmanned helicopter AR-2000, as well as a variety of UAVs, such as AR-36, Pterodactyl 10B, Pterodactyl-X, etc.
These UAVs have the characteristics of long endurance, large payload, multi-task, low cost, etc., and are suitable for reconnaissance, surveillance, strike, communication and other tasks. China Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. exhibited an unmanned surface ship, as well as a variety of torpedoes. This unmanned ship can cruise autonomously on the surface of the water and perform anti-submarine, anti-surface, anti-piracy and other missions.
These torpedoes can autonomously navigate underwater and attack enemy targets. NORINCO exhibited an unmanned ground vehicle, as well as a variety of missiles. This unmanned vehicle can drive autonomously in complex terrain and environments, performing reconnaissance, transportation, fire support and other tasks. These missiles can be launched in the air, on the ground, and on the water to attack different types of targets.
China's unmanned systems have shown their strength in real combat
China's unmanned system not only attracted attention at the exhibition, but also showed its strength in actual combat.
According to the U.S. media [Defense News], Chinese drones have played an important role in many conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and other regions, providing local governments and armed groups with convenient, efficient and low-cost air strike capabilities.
For example, in the civil war of country A, a certain party force used a Chinese wing dragon drone to carry out multiple attacks on the military bases and facilities of a certain party b, causing heavy losses to party b's forces.
In the civil war of a certain country B, the troops of a certain Party A force used China's rainbow drone to carry out continuous bombing of a certain Party B force, and once occupied the advantage.
In the conflict of a certain country C, the government army of a certain country used the Chinese Pterodactyl-2 drone to carry out a precise strike on the rebels in such and such an area, and achieved victory on the battlefield.
Chinese drones have also won many customers around the world, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and other countries. According to the [International Institute for Strategic Studies], China is the world's largest exporter of drones, with a 41 percent market share, compared to only 6 percent for the United States.
In addition to its technical level and cost-effectiveness, another important factor in the success of Chinese UAVs in the international market is its flexible cooperation model. China not only provides finished product sales, but also provides technology transfer, localized production, joint research and development and other ways to meet the needs of different customers.
The United States is under tremendous pressure in the field of unmanned systems
China's rise in the field of unmanned systems has undoubtedly put tremendous pressure on the United States.
The United States has always been a leader in unmanned systems, with the most advanced and diverse unmanned systems in the world, such as the Global Hawk, Predator, Reaper, X-47B, etc.
These unmanned systems have played an important role in the U.S. war on terrorism, air strikes, reconnaissance and surveillance, and have also won global military superiority and geopolitical influence for the United States.
However, unmanned systems in the United States have been severely restricted in terms of exports, mainly based on concerns about technology leaks.
The United States has exported drones to only a few allies, such as the United Kingdom, France, Australia, etc. This has made the United States lose its competitiveness in the international market and also lose its influence.
At the same time, the unmanned system of the United States has also been questioned and criticized from many aspects at home and abroad, such as legal compliance, moral legitimacy, public safety, military effectiveness, etc.
Unmanned systems in the United States also face interference and sabotage from hostile forces, such as electronic warfare, cyber warfare, and anti-drone weapons.
Beauty Medium:
The American press believes that in order to counter China's strength, the United States needs to adopt a more active and flexible strategy in the field of unmanned systems.
On the one hand, the United States needs to strengthen its own technological innovation and develop more advanced and diverse unmanned systems in order to maintain its technological superiority.
The United States has invested a lot of resources and manpower in the research and development of unmanned systems, and has launched some new unmanned systems, such as MQ-25 unmanned tankers, MQ-9B Sky Guardian UAVs, RQ-180 stealth UAVs, etc.
The United States is also exploring new areas and models of unmanned systems, such as UAV formations, UAV carriers, UAV delivery, etc.
On the other hand, the United States needs to relax its export restrictions and establish cooperative relations with more countries and regions to increase its market share and geopolitical influence.
The United States has recognized this problem and revised its drone export policy in 2020, relaxing the classification and control of drones, allowing drones to be exported to more countries, such as India, Morocco, Vietnam, etc.
The United States is also sharing information and experience with its allies and partners in unmanned systems to form an effective unmanned systems network to meet China's challenges.
For example, the United States and Japan have established close cooperation in the field of unmanned systems, jointly developing a new UAV XQ-58A, as well as an unmanned submarine.
But in any case, according to the current supply chain situation in the United States, if you want to compete with China in the large-scale production of drones, I am afraid that you can only do it.