China’s CH-7 Stealth Drone Has the U.S Air Force Staring Hard

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Key Points and Summary: China’s CH-7 stealth reconnaissance drone is designed to perform high-risk surveillance, sending real-time target data to bombers and other combat units for stand-off strikes.

-The drone, revealed at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow, features stealth capabilities likened to the U.S. RQ-180 (unconfirmed by the Pentagon) and resembles the Northrop X-47B in design. With a cruising speed of Mach 0.5 and a ceiling of 16,000 meters, the CH-7 also supports early warning and electronic warfare.

-It aligns with China’s growing emphasis on manned-unmanned teaming, mirroring U.S. concepts where drones collaborate with manned aircraft for enhanced battlefield awareness and precision targeting.

China’s CH-7 Drone: A Stealthy Eye in the Sky

“Eyes for other combat units” were the words used by a Chinese Government-backed newspaper to describe the Concept of Operation for its emerging CH-7 stealthy reconnaissance drone, a platform the paper says will perform high-risk surveillance over dangerous enemy territory and send target data to bombers. 

The Global Times Chinese newspaper says the CH-7 evolved from earlier designs of a larger, armed platform into a smaller, lighter, stealthy reconnaissance drone intended to penetrate contested airspace and identify high-value targets for armed platforms to engage from stand-off ranges. 

What is the CH-7 Drone?

This description of the drone raises interesting tactical questions, mainly because the Chinese paper said the CH-7 will identify targets for “bombers” or “other combat units.” This would indicate that the PLA Air Force may use its bomber force as an aerial command and control node capable of receiving real-time data from forward-operating stealthy drones. As part of a description of these Concepts of Operation, the paper indicates that the bomber can attack from “stand-off” distances. 

The Concepts of Operation and tactical questions seem significant, as the CH-7’s resemblance to stealthy US drones is recognizable and regularly discussed. The Global Times even states that its CH-7 is comparable to the US RQ-180, a mysterious Northrop Grumman-built stealthy drone reported in multiple news reports to exist. 

However, the potential existence of an RQ-180 remains unconfirmed by the Pentagon, and there have not been public images released, which suggests that the air platform is secretive if it does exist.  No public images of the reported RQ-180 have been released, so it seems significant that the Chinese paper would reference the aircraft to highlight the stealth attributes of its CH-7.

CH-7 Existence in Stealth Mode

The Global Times describes the CH-7 as “on the same level as the US-made RQ-180,” regarding stealth, should the RQ-180 exist. 

“Even if the CH-7 gets spotted by the enemy’s radar and gets shot down during the mission, it has already transmitted valuable information about the enemy back to the command system,” the Chinese paper states. 

While the CH-7 may or may not rival or look like the mysterious RQ-180 (which may or may not exist), the external configuration of the drone seems quite similar to Northrop’s X-47B stealthy demonstrator drone, which launched from an aircraft carrier years ago before being canceled. The X-47B was a pioneering platform that publicly showed, for the first time, that a stealthy drone could be launched, operated, and landed on a US Navy carrier. 

A unmanned X-47B operating over the Atlantic Test Range.

There is no mention of the CH-7 as an ocean-launched drone. However, if it were, it could go a long way in closing the gap between US maritime stealthy ISR and attack platform power projection. 

China publicly revealed its CH-7 in November 2024 at an airshow in Zhuhai, and the Chinese paper describes the drone as an early-warning mission and electronic warfare platform with a cruising speed of Mach .5 and a “service ceiling of 16000 meters.” 

The largest and most significant question seems to pertain to manned-unmanned teaming, as the PLA also seems to copy US military tactics and concepts of operation and technology. The Pentagon’s concept of the 6th-generation stealth aircraft is to engineer a “family of systems” wherein Combat Collaborative Drones support manned fighters as part of a “teaming” arrangement.

The B-21 bomber may also be used as a flying command and control hub able to control and operate drones. 

B-21 Raider. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

About the Author: Kris Osborn 

Kris Osborn is Military Technology Editor of 1945. He is also the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.