China’s mysterious ‘WZ-X’ stealth drone spotted again in clearest photos to date

New images are circulating that appear to show China’s latest American B-2 “Spirit” looking stealth drone, the “WZ-X.” Snapped at an unknown location and date, the images appear to show some interesting features of the aircraft. These new images come only a few months after other tantalizing images of the drone were released back in August this year. Those particular images showed the drone from the rear, revealing information about its landing gear, rear rudder setup, etc. The new images confirm some other important features, like its overall shape. From the images seen, it has what appears to be a “serrated trailing edge,” meaning the back edge of the wing isn’t a simple straight line. Rather, it is more of a zig-zag, almost sawtooth pattern, much like the B-2 “Spirit.” On stealth aircraft, designers try to align edges at specific angles so radar energy reflects away from the transmitter rather than straight back at it. The jagged rear edge can also help conceal things like control surfaces and exhaust features from radar. WZ-X spotted again in the air This feature alone reinforces the belief that this new drone is, indeed, stealth-capable. Analysts believe drones like this could be used to operate deep inside “contested airspace” much like stealth aircraft do today. For what purpose is not known, but likely it would collect important data and images before returning. That would make it conceptually closer to the role of something like the US RQ-170/RQ-180 family than a conventional MQ-9 “Reaper.” The latter isn’t particularly stealthy, but something like this would be designed specifically to survive where a Reaper probably couldn’t. The enormous flying-wing shape also makes sense for reconnaissance missions. A flying wing offers lots of fuel capacity, long endurance, room for sensors, and, critically, a relatively low radar cross-section. While not obvious from images, analysts believe the drone would also come with synthetic-aperture radar, electronic-intelligence receivers, infrared/optical sensors, or communications-intelligence equipment aboard. However, what exact electronics and sensor packages are onboard are just speculation at this point. Another interesting thing to note about the recent batch of images is that the drone was test-flown during daylight. That indicates that China is more than comfortable flying its new drone around during the day. Flown during the day Importantly, people can more easily photograph it, meaning it might no longer be a super-rare prototype making occasional secret test flights. If true, this could indicate that the program could be moving toward a more mature flight-test phase. But there’s an important caveat here. The “WZ-X” isn’t an official designation, and the photos themselves haven’t been independently authenticated. So we know much more about what the aircraft looks like than about what it can actually do. If this truly is a planned “stealth” drone, bigger strategic significance is what China plans to use the drone for. For example, it could potentially scout ahead of Chinese bombers or missiles, locate ships, map air-defense radars, intercept communications and provide targeting information without risking a pilot. That’s why analysts care about it; it could be part of the sensor network that makes China’s long-range weapons much more useful, rather than simply being an exotic spy plane.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Christopher graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Geology. Since then, he has worked exclusively within the Built Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Consultancy industries. He is a qualified and accredited Energy Consultant, Green Deal Assessor and Practitioner member of IEMA. Chris’s main interests range from Science and Engineering, Military and Ancient History to Politics and Philosophy.