Representative image shows a red beam hitting a target.
Credit: iStock Photo
China, during a recent air show in Zhuhai, Beijing, showed a mobile air defense weapons system reportedly capable of intercepting the smallest and lightest drones using high-power microwaves.
Called the FK-4000 the system was unveiled by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and can shoot microwave blasts in under a second from a distance of nearly two miles, Interesting Engineering reported.
There were several other exciting offerings on display at the show, including the Reusable Long March 9 rocket design.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, said its rocket could carry 100 tons to low-earth orbit, and up to 50 tons to lunar-transfer orbit.
The Long March 9 is a two-stage design, and the goal was for both stages to eventually be fully reusable, the company said. Its first version, shown in 2018, was expendable, meaning the booster would fall back to Earth and be destroyed after use. It is expected to rival behemoth SpaceX.
China's AVIC, another state-owned company, showed off its uncrewed spaceplane at the air show, saying it was designed to carry cargo to the country's space station, launched in 2021.
On the final day of the event, secretary of Russia's Security Council Sergei Shoigu visited, days after the Russian made Su-57 stealth jet had its first appearance away from home.
Military gear was on display in the exhibition hall where it was viewed by Sergei Shoigu, reported state media outlet the Global Times. The former defence minister was in the country for annual strategic security consultations.
China demonstrated its pull on the world stage by welcoming a delegation from Saudi Arabia with its first pavilion at the event, as well as its close ties with Russia even as that country is isolated from Western nations and their allies due to its invasion of Ukraine.
The air show's commercial aviation side was much smaller than in previous years, putting military technology in the spotlight. Hardware as varied as air-defence systems, radars, missiles and aircraft packed the grounds indoors and out.
The show included the public debut of China's J-35A stealth fighter while a two-seat mockup of its J-20 stealth fighter, advanced helicopters, stealthy drones and missile defence systems also caught the spotlight.
(With Reuters inputs)