Recent footage and photos have surfaced showing China testing advanced uncrewed air vehicles (UAVs) that can fly at high speeds and extreme altitudes. The tests include launches from a drone and even a high-altitude balloon. These vehicles appear to be linked to the MD-22 project—a hypersonic aircraft that first made headlines two years ago.
What’s in the Footage?
The newly emerged video gives us a closer look at three versions of these mysterious air vehicles, marked MD-19, MD-21, and another partially labeled MD-2. They share a similar design to the MD-22, which was first revealed at China’s Zhuhai Airshow in 2022.
中国临近空间宽域飞行器研制试验首次公开披露！😃 pic.twitter.com/mLkCQQ5zX1
The MD-22 is believed to be a hypersonic testbed, meaning it’s used to develop and test high-speed technologies. It has some impressive specifications:
Length: About 35 feet (10.8 meters)
Top Speed: Up to Mach 7 (seven times the speed of sound!)
Range: 4,970 miles (8,000 kilometers)
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