China held a low-key but historic launch of the C919 civil jet at its largest air show. Due to Beijing's zero-COVID policy, several delegates were unable to attend the scaled-down event as cases hit their highest level in six months.

China has developed a new indigenous air defense system and and displayed it 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province.

C919: Drone-Killing System

The show was in response to the new challenges in modern warfare brought by drones with low flight altitude, slow flight speed, and small radar reflection area, Global Times reported.

The Second Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the largest air-space missile producer in the nation, created and designed the new system. The new system, which will use the HQ-17AE short-range air defense missile weapon system at its core, is anticipated to be shown during this year's expo, also known as the Airshow China.

When confronted with such "low, slow, and tiny drones," even the most sophisticated anti-air weapon systems may prove useless since the drones will be flying in the radars' "shadow zone." According to a spokesperson, it is more difficult for conventional anti-air systems to locate and engage them due to their low flying speed and tiny radar reflecting area.

The ZK-K20 ground missile anti-air control system, HQ-17AE and QW-12 short-range missiles, and the ZR-1500 unmanned smart defensive weapon system make up the system, which is produced by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the country's biggest missile manufacturer.

Early warning is provided by a combination of the DK-1 low-altitude detecting radar and the electro-optic radar, which can concurrently detect several targets. According to reports, it can locate 20 targets per second between 500 meters and 18 kilometers away. The DK-1 can identify targets for ground vehicles in addition to drones.

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China's Air Defense System

The "brain" of the system, the ZK-K20 ground missile anti-air control system, merges sensors and missiles, with the HQ-17AE and QW-12 serving as the main weapons. The former missile can simultaneously guide four missiles and has an intercepting range of 1.5 to 20 kilometers, as per MENAFN.

To combat the high cost of intercepting low-cost drones, the ZK-K20 system is also equipped with a cannonball launcher and a soft-kill anti-drone electronic warfare suite. The ZR-1500 acts as the system's security element and is equipped with 12 micro-missiles, four tiny missiles, and two loitering bombs. If necessary, it may even convert to other weapons like machine guns.

It is said to have a 5-kilometer intercept range against things including ground vehicles, humans, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and drones. The close-range HK-17AE missile system is the main piece of equipment in the interception portfolio, but the most noteworthy alternative is the brand-new FK-3000, an improvement over the truck-mounted FK-2000 platform from the previous year.

The FK-3000 is an improvement over the previous model, which could fire both anti-aircraft guns and missiles while moving at 40 km/h (25 mph) on a road surface. There are now four integrated advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, and the arsenal has grown. The FK-3000 includes 12 four-tube missile launchers as well as anti-aircraft guns and electronic jammers as part of its arsenal of weapons.

Per SCMP via MSN, the LW-30 laser beam defense system and the "Skynet" road-mobile system, which has both military and civilian uses, are further interception choices. At least two ZR-1500 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), equipped with either detection or 4x6 missile modules, are also present with the combat vehicles to provide extra intelligence or firepower assistance.

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