China has increased its air power close to the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is causing India additional problems. Beijing has allegedly launched its stealthy flying-wing uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV), the GJ-11 Sharp Sword, close to the Indian border with Sikkim, after deploying fifth-generation J-20 fighter fighters.
A concerning possibility is that the J-20 and the cunning GJ-11 Sharp Sword may work together in a Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUMT) scenario.
Additionally, the stealthy drone may operate in disputed airspace and carry out a range of tasks, including as electronic warfare (EW), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), air-to-air and air-to-surface attacks, and jamming adversary air command and control centers.
Shigatse Air Base in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region saw the deployment of three GJ-11 Sharp Sword flying-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UCAVs) between August 6 and September 5, according to satellite images from the open-source intelligence platform Planet Labs.
Interestingly, Tibet’s Shigatse Air Base is located just around 90 miles northeast of the border with the Indian state of Sikkim.
Over the years, there have been several military conflicts in the sensitive region.
One of the worst military conflicts between China and India occurred in September 1967 at Sikkim’s Nathu La Pass, when 65 Indian troops lost their lives. While independent sources put the number of PLA troops killed at between 200 and 300, Indian reports put the death toll on the Chinese side at 300 and 400.
In October 1967, a month later, fighting broke out once again at the neighboring Cho La Pass, killing about 40 Chinese troops. India won both of these battles, which revived the Indian military’s spirits after the 1962 Sino-Indian War defeat.
Before hostilities flared up once again in 2017, a precarious calm lasted for over forty years. The Dokhlam plateau, close to the tri-junction region where the borders of China, Bhutan, and India meet, saw a military stalemate that lasted for two months.
Following the Galwan fight in June 2020, there were again reports of small confrontations in the Sikkim area.
Given that it overlooks the vital “Silliguri Corridor,” sometimes referred to as the Chicken’s Neck, a slender piece of land that connects mainland India with its northeastern provinces, the region is vital to India.
China’s deployment of its most sophisticated stealth fighter planes and drones close to the Sikkim border is concerning for India since it implies that New Delhi cannot relax its security on the approximately 3,488-kilometer-long LAC, even with the recent warming in India-China ties.
The UCAV GJ-11 Sharp Sword
For more than ten years, the GJ-11 Sharp Sword UCAV has been in development. In 2013, a far less covert version of the drone took to the skies.
Officially unveiled at a military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) (also known as National Day) in October 2019, the stealthy GJ-11 is commonly thought to compete with the US stealth RQ-170 Sentinel drone.
Only top and side shots of the drone, which was placed on a truck throughout the procession, were included in the first images, which were created and produced by AVIC.
Later images of a scale model at an air show in China in September 2021 showed that it had two internal belly armament bays that were open between the side landing gears.
The four rounds of ammo in each compartment resemble guided precision air-to-ground glide bombs. A Global Times story then said that experts predicted the drone would likely carry a variety of precise munitions types, including bigger ones that were not on exhibit during the air show.
It also cited Zhang Xuefeng, a military aviation specialist, who claimed that the flying-wing-shaped drone had a long range, high stealth, and subsonic cruise capabilities. The GJ-11’s main objective, according to CCTV narrators during the demonstration, would be to carry out deep-penetrating attacks against important targets.
Another clue that the UCAV’s main function is strike-oriented is the designation’s “GJ,” which also means “gonji,” which is Chinese for “attack.”
This year’s September 3 military parade in Beijing also included the stealthy UCAV.
The GJ-11 UCAV is noteworthy for being carrier-capable as well.
In December 2023, Chinese military aviation analyst Andreas Rupprecht shared a photo of a prototype aircraft carrier installation on land in Wuhan. On the flying deck of the facility were dummies of the J-15, J-35/J-31/FC-31 Gyrfalcon, KJ-600, and a GJ-11.
It is “close confirmation” that a “flying wing UAV/UCAV is designed for carrier flight,” according to Rick Joe, another PLA specialist.
Flying as a member of a manned-unmanned squad with the J-20 stealth fighter is another potential duty. Screen captures from a digital portrayal on China Central Television (CCTV) in October 2022 showed GJ-11 drones operating alongside J-20s and H-6K strategic bombers.
These drones’ deployment at Tibet’s Shigatse Air Base indicates that the inconspicuous UCAV is almost ready for use.
The Covert Features of the GJ-11
A stealth-optimized flying-wing design characterizes the GJ-11 UCAV.
Unmanned aerial vehicles, or flying-wing UAVs, are a particular kind of drone with a tailless, fixed-wing design in which the body of the aircraft creates lift, resembling a single giant wing without a separate fuselage or conventional tail section.
This idea extends aerodynamic concepts developed for manned aircraft, such the Northrop B-2 Spirit bomber, to unmanned systems.
The UCAV furthermore has an internal weapons compartment. Its clean outlines, projecting portions, and absence of a tail guarantee a low Radar Cross-Section (RCS).
The UCAV also has a flat exhaust nozzle, which is usual for lowering the infrared signature.
Reports state that the UCAV’s RCS is less than 0.05 square meters.
Growing Air Power of China at Shigatse Air Base
Sikkim, India, is just around 90 miles from Tibet’s Shigatse Air Base.
With an estimated length of 16,404 feet (5,000 meters), the air base has one of the longest airstrips in the world.
When India and China battled on the neighboring Doklam plateau in 2017, China built a new auxiliary runway that was 9,840 feet (3,000 meters) long and included seven huge aircraft parking spaces.
On the site, China has also stationed its stealthy J-20 fighter planes. Six J-20 fighter planes were seen on the Shigatse Air Base in a May satellite photo last year.
China is also building at least five hangars and an extended apron at the air base, according to media sources.
In addition to the fifth-generation J-20, the air base’s satellite photography has verified the existence of J-10Cs, helicopters, stealthy drones, and airborne early warning and control aircraft.
According to reports, Shigatse was also the first air station to use the WZ-7 Soaring Dragon, a high-flying surveillance drone.
Given the history of bloody conflicts between the two nations in the Sikkim region, China’s air force and infrastructure expansion at the Shigatse air base is a stark message to India.
But India is also not doing nothing. IAF’s second squadron of 16 Rafale fighters is based at the Indian Air Force facility in Hasimara, West Bengal. The duty of protecting the Himalayan border over Eastern India falls to these Rafales.
Additionally, India has placed the Su-30 MKI close to the LAC.
India also reportedly deployed one squadron of the S-400 air defense system in the Sikkim region, close to the LAC, earlier this year.
India’s S-400 deployment close to the border may have prompted China to station sophisticated stealth drones at the Shigatse air base.