DEFENSE PULSE Weekly \\ 0080

China's Jiutian heavyweight drone completed its first flight, demonstrating a jet-powered mothership platform designed to deploy coordinated swarms of smaller autonomous systems against ships, island outposts, and dispersed targets. Aviation Industry Corporation of China's 16-metric-ton (17.6-ton) design carries 6,000kg (13,228 lbs) in a modular payload bay configured to launch autonomous swarms, with 7,000km (4,350-mile) ferry range pushing these distributed attacks deep into contested space. The 25-meter (82-foot) wingspan aircraft also demonstrated carrying PL-12 air-to-air missiles, TL-17 cruise missiles, and precision bombs on eight underwing stations, plus sensor turrets and radar provisions for independent strike missions. Operating at 15,000-meter (49,212-foot) ceilings for 12-hour endurance, the platform can forward-deploy swarms within hundreds of miles of target areas while remaining beyond engagement range.

The capability addresses a critical gap in modern naval warfare where saturation attacks overwhelm ship defenses faster than interceptors can engage them. Single motherships delivering coordinated autonomous swarms enable attacking distributed targets simultaneously, forcing defenders to respond to dozens or hundreds of threats across wide areas rather than focusing fire on individual platforms. China's People's Liberation Army already operates multiple flying-wing stealth drones including the recently operational GJ-11, and continues unveiling new autonomous designs including the J-36 stealth fighter demonstrator. The first flight moves the platform into operational testing as China expands its dominant position in global military drone development.

\\ TWZ

Army's Dark Eagle hypersonic boost-glide weapon confirmed at 3,500km range reaching China from Guam or Moscow from London in under 20 minutes, with warhead under 13.6 kg (30 pounds) relying primarily on kinetic impact energy. Pentagon addressed previous lethality concerns with blast-fragmentation warhead for soft targets like air defenses and radar arrays. Currently producing one missile monthly with goal of two per month (24 annually), targeting operational status by end FY2025 after years of delays. Shared missile architecture with Navy's sea-launched IRCPS system positions US to close hypersonic gap with China.

China's CH-7 tailless flying-wing drone completed first flight testing advanced flight control computers needed to counter inherent directional instability from eliminating vertical stabilizers (which removes radar-reflective surfaces). The HALE surveillance platform integrates stealth coating on leading edges, access panels, weapon bays, and specialized screw treatment for low observability, equipped with optical, electronic, and infrared sensors plus onboard maritime surveillance radar. Confusion remains whether this is the same airframe spotted flying November 11 with two vertical stabilizers, as current images show no stabilizers or mounting joints, though patches near the exhaust suggest removable attachments.

Korean Air developing open-architecture drone platform where reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and strike payloads snap in and out LEGO-style for rapid mission reconfiguration. $1.3M program with Agency for Defense Development partners LIG Nex1, Realtime Visual, MNC Solutions under Korea's K-MOSA framework enabling cross-manufacturer component interoperability. First application targets Korean Air's stealth drone prototype with flight tests first half 2026, manned-unmanned teaming demonstration 2027. Eliminates waiting for specialized variants as frontline units mix and match mission packages.

GPS interference incidents triggered quantum navigation research acceleration. Multiple companies exploiting the quantum nature of light and atoms to build ultra-sensitive sensors enabling satellite-independent navigation. Infleqtion tested quantum gyroscopes and accelerometers on British military aircraft plus Tiqker atomic clock on US Army vehicles, drones, and submarines. DARPA and Defense Innovation Unit awarded contracts in August preparing for operational deployment, with Q-CTRL's machine learning-enhanced magnetometers achieving 94x accuracy improvement over strategic-grade inertial systems in Cessna trials by filtering vehicle noise from Earth's magnetic field variations.

Korean researchers developed liquid metal composite ink maintaining electrical conductivity while stretching 1,200%, forming rubber-like metamaterial that dynamically absorbs electromagnetic waves. KAIST team's stretchable metamaterial absorber changes which radar frequencies it absorbs simply by stretching the substrate, enabling adaptive cloaking that adjusts to different threats. Simple print-and-dry fabrication requires no high-temperature sintering or laser processing, with materials showing stability after nearly one year exposed to air. Applications target robotic skin, body-mounted wearables, and defense radar stealth systems.

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