China's Stealth Drone's Maiden Flight

On 11/21/13, China staged the successful maiden test of its first jet-powered stealth drone, making the fourth country to implement the technology after the Britain, France and the United States. Military experts said the unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) would help China to strengthen its intelligence gathering capability in the East and South China seas, where Beijing has been engaged in several tense territorial disputes with its Asian neighbours. In-flight photos of the new drone, which has been dubbed the "Lijian" ("Sharp Sword" in Chinese), and video footage were posted on Chinese military forums and picked up by the website of the Global Times, a newspaper affiliated with the People's Daily.