China’s PLA found ‘shooting at drone swarms challenging’ in recent air defence drills

First round of anti-aircraft artillery launched against drone swarm during PLA exercise achieved only 40 per cent damage, CCTV report says

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The combined use of electronic jamming systems, surface-to-air missiles and automatic rifles will be able to raise the hit rate against drone swarms, according to a military commentator. Photo: Handout

Published: 10:00am, 2 Sep 2024

The Chinese military, which has been testing its capabilities to counter enemy drone swarm attacks, has admitted that accurately hitting the small targets may prove difficult.

A first round of anti-aircraft artillery launched against a drone swarm during a recent People’s Liberation Army (PLA) training exercise achieved only 40 per cent damage, state broadcaster CCTV reported last week.

“Shooting at drone swarms was still quite challenging due to their speed and small size, as well as their ability to change flight trajectories – making it easy for gunners to lose their targets,” Duan Xiaolong, from an unnamed regiment with the PLA Ground Force’s 77th Group Army, was quoted as saying.

China is among the world’s top military and civilian drone producers. In recent years, it has ramped up investment in the development of smarter and faster unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other forms of drone technology as such aircraft play a growing role in modern combat.

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The United States, China’s main geopolitical rival, has also paced up drone delivery to its military and is working on drone strategies to counter growing Chinese defence capabilities.