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Alcott Wei

The Chinese air force has released video of its GJ-11 stealth attack drone flying alongside and linked to the J-20 fighter jet in what is the first footage of the country’s crewed and uncrewed aircraft working together.
The footage appeared in a promotional video released by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force on Tuesday to mark the 76th anniversary of its founding.
It shows the drone flying in formation with the J-20, China’s most advanced fighter jet, as well as the J-16D fighter, a variant of the J-16 with a focus on electronic warfare. The GJ-11 was flying in front of the other two aircraft, highlighting its role in getting closer to targets than manned fighters.


The new drone in the promotional video is code-named Xuanlong 08. A fighter pilot in the video, code-named Weilong, says: “Weilong 01 received, already collaborating with Xuanlong.”
Weilong is a nickname for China’s J-20 fifth-generation fighter jet. The air force’s social media post containing the footage was captioned “GJ-11 flight debut”.
It is the first time China has publicly shown its manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) technology.
In 2022, a plan for MUM-T involving J-20s was revealed when state broadcaster CCTV showed animation of a J-20 controlling a formation of stealth drones to execute strikes. It showed a twin-seat variant of the J-20 – a design believed to accommodate a second pilot to control drones in the formation.
The video on Tuesday showed a J-20 with only one seat but it revealed the J-16D as having two seats. It did not specify a definition for “collaboration”.
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military commentator and former PLA instructor, said the fighter jet linked with the GJ-11 was a J-20 fighter jet.
“The J-20 and GJ-11 are believed to share a datalink and both are stealth fighters. The GJ-11 can be controlled from the ground and can also be linked with the J-20 to extend its firepower,” Song said.




He said the GJ-11, J-20 and J-16 aircraft could create a coordinated combat effect, serving as the vanguard of combat operations.
“The J-20 and GJ-11 are both stealth fighters with extremely strong penetration capabilities. The GJ-11 further extends the J-20’s penetration capability, achieving stealth penetration,” Song said.
“The J-16D could use electromagnetic interference for supportive suppression. A formation of three aircraft can coordinate with each other, utilising stealth and electromagnetic suppression to suppress air defences and radar.”
The GJ-11 is a stealth attack drone that entered service by 2019 when it appeared in the military parade that October.
This year, a drone believed to be a GJ-11 naval variant appeared in China’s Victory Day parade, where Beijing said all equipment displayed was in service.
Global Military, a social media account affiliated with the Global Times, noted that the tail fins of the GJ-11 in Tuesday’s official video had changed from the model displayed at the parade.
The official commentary written to describe the drones displayed at the 2025 military parade stated: “They can conduct stealth strikes, achieve wide-area coverage and operate autonomously in coordination, innovating new forms of future air combat”.
Autonomous coordination is believed to be based on an interactive information network of future battlefields. The GJ-11 could serve as a node in a larger combat network via digital datalink, enabling real-time information sharing, better situational awareness, collaborative decision making and task allocation.
However, Song said the GJ-11’s collaboration with fighter jets could still be in the training phase, and it was premature to conclude that its coordinated combat capabilities were fully formed.


There is speculation that the drone could play the role of a loyal wingman for the PLA, acting as a vanguard for fighter jets and an expendable decoy for combat and strikes.
Few global military powers are known to be pursuing this cutting-edge air combat technology.
The United States Air Force’s plan, called collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), uses drones that are still at the experimental stage.
In August, the US completed the first live-fire test flight of its CCA programme prototype, called YFQ-42A.


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Military promotional video is the first time China has publicly shown its manned-unmanned teaming technology


Military promotional video is the first time China has publicly shown its manned-unmanned teaming technology.


PLA shows first footage of Chinese GJ-11 drone working with crewed J-20 fighter

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Military promotional video is the first time China has publicly shown its manned-unmanned teaming technology

Military promotional video is the first time China has publicly shown its manned-unmanned teaming technology