Mystery Flying Wing Aircraft Model Appears in Satellite Images of China’s Radar Test Facility | Aviation

The Chinese mystery aircraft might not be an actual flying asset but rather a model used to test the design’s radar characteristics.

A mysterious flying-wing aircraft appeared in satellite images of a known Chinese RCS (Radar Cross Section) test site at Baoding, in eastern China’s Hebei province, earlier this year. The aircraft, possibly a model of an under-development UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle), is similar in appearance to Northrop Grumman’s X-47B UCAV, with its cranked-kite configuration.

The same facility was also used to test the stealth characteristics of the Hongdu GJ-11 Sharp Sword. Observers believe the GJ-11 might eventually fly from Chinese aircraft carriers given how its mock-ups have been seen on full-sized carrier test facilities in unofficial photographs.

The latest pictures of the unknown aircraft, whose existence was first reported by Aviation Week, were taken by Airbus’s satellites, viewable on Google Earth, on Feb. 12, 2024. The area shown is the Hebei facility for testing stealth aircraft, whose satellite pictures were comprehensively analyzed by Covert Shores in Sep. 2021.

Mystery Aircraft

The aircraft is located at…