China is now the world’s largest armed drone exporter. And when it comes to the future of war, that might present a problem for the United States.
A Chinese soldier salutes in front of a drone during a parade on October 1, 2019 in Beijing, China. Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
The video was likely meant to promote morale. It was 2015, and the Iraqi city of Ramadi had just fallen to the Islamic State (ISIS). Determined to take it back, the Iraqi military was working closely with its United States partners, and the Ministry of Defense released a video clip to show themselves focused on the task at hand.See The New York Times article on the drone strike here.
Only, the advisor in the video diligently looking over the shoulders of senior Iraqi officers wasn’t American. He appeared to be Chinese. And the sinister looking drone shown taxiing proudly on runways after destroying an ISIS position wasn’t one of the familiar American drones that had, since 2002, flown the Iraqi skies. It was the Chinese-made Caihong-4.
Though the footage was supposed to show off the Iraqi military, the Caihong-4 stole the show. The Ramadi strike was the first time a Chinese-made armed drone was successfully used in combat, and the world took notice.
A stil
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
With its new outbound investment rule, the U.S. is hoping to stop American capital from facilitating China's technological rise. But will the restrictions undermine the global competitiveness of American industry in the process?
The Trump administration's U.S. trade representative explains why he thinks the U.S. got the raw end of economic ties with China, what he thinks of the Biden administration's approach and why the U.S. shouldn't do...
The Global Intelligence Platform used by The Wire China
