Chinese media described the large unmanned flying wing drone as a stealth-centric, long endurance, persistent reconnaissance and early warning aircraft.
China’s massive CH-7 UAV was captured flying for the first time in an unofficial image on Nov. 11, 2025. Curiously, the image, captured from the bottom, clearly shows canted vertical stabilizers installed on the flying-wing drone, which has so far been seen only in a tailless form also in official footage, concepts and display models.
This, however, might not be the aircraft’s first flight, with this possibly being only the first time it has been captured on camera. The unmanned aircraft is one among several that emerged recently in China.
The GJ-11, being the first to have been officially acknowledged as part of the PLA Air Force fleet in footage recently released by the service, has most likely been in service for a while. The naval GJ-21 would not be far behind.
And here’s the video even if the original poster falsely suggested it to be the H-20:https://t.co/2o37PVavRf
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) November 11, 2025
New footage
Chinese military aviation researcher Andreas Rupprecht shared a collage of images, showing the cranked-kite wing uncrewed aircraft with two pairs of joints on either side of the flat exhaust to support the vertical stabilizers. This shows these control surfaces might be detachable based on the requirements, making the aircraft’s radar visibility and maneuverability adaptable to mission needs.
The joints were also visible in the first official video of the CH-7 that we reported here at The Aviationist in November 2024, where the aircraft in factory yellow primer was taxiing on the runway. That image showed flight data probes (pitot tubes) on each of the wings, which are also faintly visible in one of the latest images.
The presence of pitot tubes generally means that the particular aircraft is still in a pre-production or prototype testing phase. It is not known whether it means this is the same airframe from the November 2024 official video or another prototype that has been produced for testing. We can also see another protrusion on the chin, which is the nose landing gear.
CH-7(彩虹-7) ステルスUAV pic.twitter.com/Tn6NWhY1Sy
— お砂糖wsnbn (@sugar_wsnbn) November 8, 2024
The November 2024 footage and one of the stills from the clip shared by Rupprecht now also showed a large array of antennas and sensors above the dorsal engine intake. These are normally associated with SATCOM/SATNAV (Satellite Communications/Navigation), data linking, electromagnetic sensors for electronic warfare, networking, and encrypted radio communications.
Overall, the CH-7 bears resemblance to the Northrop X-47B and the RQ-180 stealth UAS – the latter made the front cover of Aviation Week in 2013. The CH-7 has canted wing tips, instead of the triangular tips on the X-47B.
The CH-7, however, shows only some similarities to the mystery UCAV test model at a known radar test site The Aviationist reported about in August 2024, as the canted wing sections are longer. The sweep angle and the overall proportions are also different, and the satellite images of the radar test facility show possibly canted vertical stabilizers towards the trailing edge.
IIRC this is our first look at the flying wing CH-7 stealth UAV (doesn’t seem Psed)
src 梦漪迟/wb pic.twitter.com/XZk8J08Gfb
— Hûrin (@Hurin92) November 8, 2024
What relationship the CH-7 has with this model is not clear. However, the data generated from the radar reflective tests may have informed some part of the CH-7’s development. Rupprecht has also denied claims of the latest footage of the CH-7 being identified as the rumored H-20 bomber.
Nevertheless, the CH-series of UCAVs, like the CH-9 and CH-5, are a prolific range developed by China, and displayed actively in exhibitions. They are broadly in the same range of certain versions of the domestic Wing Loong series.
Both Wing Loong and the CH-drones are meanwhile perceived as Chinese alternatives to the MQ-9 series. As the CH-9/CH-5 has been shown with the KD-21 ALBM as a part of its payload, the CH-7 is also likely to have some strike functions.
CH-7 origins
The aircraft was first unveiled in the 2018 edition of the Zhuhai Airshow. In February 2024, Global Times reported that the CH-7 stealth UAV (some reports have also called it the Rainbow 7, or Cai Hong-7) concluded testing, and the development phase was scheduled to wrap up by the end of that year.
Observers also expected the CH-7 to make an appearance at the 2024 iteration of the Zhuhai air show.
The drone was first unveiled at the 2018’s Zhuhai Airshow, followed by a newer version displayed in the 2022 installment. Developed by CASC (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation), the CH-7 is powered by a single turbofan engine, and is meant for high-altitude deep penetration missions.
The flying wing, blended wing-body airframe, according other GT reports, is primarily a high-altitude, long-range maritime reconnaissance and electronic intelligence (ELINT) drone for persistent surveillance. Using its stealth, it offers deep penetration, early warning about hostile aircraft, warships and electronic intelligence to friendly shore, ship, and aerial strike and bomber units, helping build a battlefield picture.
GT quoted Cao Ran of CASC, who said: “The stealth aircraft’s scale model made its debut at the airshow in 2018, but at that time, it was being designed to be a stealth armed reconnaissance UAV that can play a strategic role in combat, so it was bigger and able to conduct strike missions to eliminate a strategic target. However, six years on, the CH-7 project has experienced a change from strategic drone to advanced tactical drone that is able to conduct various missions due to the development of modern warfare and the changing demand of clients.”
CH-7 again pic.twitter.com/6iRZOUlX17
— Hûrin (@Hurin92) October 29, 2024
The CH-7 scale models at the 2022 and 2024 installments of the Zhuhai airshow had been shown with three different types of air-to-ground munitions. The latest footage however does not capture any internal weapons stores.
Conclusion
We do not know if the CH-7 has been formally inducted. Only official unveilings, like mock ups in parades, and footage of flight with service paint schemes on the PLA Air Force’s Weibo and Bilibili accounts will shed more light.
In the case of the GJ-11, we learnt that the UCAV may have been in service for a while, and the PLAAF released the older footage only now. The GJ-21, with its ventral arrestor hook for being chucked off the EMALS catapult of the Type 076 LHD amphibious assault carrier, further showed that the naval version of the GJ-11 had been produced and put through flight testing for some time.
GJ-X UCAV
Oct. 19 and Oct. 28, 2025 also marked the emergence of another large flying wing drone, a cranked-kite wing-type, which Rupprecht referred to as the GJ-X.
As it seems, likely the huge GJ-X UCAV was seen again.https://t.co/adZRqExhBh pic.twitter.com/aq5IOzLBZd
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) October 19, 2025
And apparently the GJ-X was also seen again … pic.twitter.com/yyJtr1thzv
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) October 28, 2025
The bottom image of the overhead flight captured what could be a silhouette-hiding paint scheme. A dark shape, different from the design configuration of the GJ-X, is painted on the underside, and could be a way to obscure identification.
