"According to the Telegraph, the Luan Niao design specs point to a behemoth spaceship that would measure nearly 800 feet nose-to-tail and span some 2,244 feet in width. With that size, designers say it could weigh as much as 120,000 tons, with a payload of 88 "Xuan Nu" autonomous fighter drones that operate in the upper limits of the stratosphere. Xuan Nu fighters are also a conceptual spacecraft,"
"The Xuan Nu fighter concept has been circling around aerospace trade shows since at least 2019, while the idea for the Luan Niao dates back a full decade. However, both craft have been newly revived as audacious 3D renders for the "South Heaven Gate Project," a coordinated push to align China's aerospace and defense sectors around a common - if far fetched - goal."
A China Central Television YouTube channel posted footage of several autonomous aerial vehicles, including the Wing Loong II long-range drone and the Lanying R6000 tiltrotor. One segment presented a conceptual orbital mothership named Luan Niao designed to launch uncrewed fighter drones and hyper-ballistic missiles from the edge of space. Design specifications indicate a vessel nearly 800 feet long, about 2,244 feet wide, weighing up to 120,000 tons with a payload of 88 Xuan Nu autonomous fighters operating near the stratosphere. Xuan Nu is a conceptual sixth-generation jet prototype used at tech exhibitions. The concepts were promoted under the South Heaven Gate Project and generated excited public reactions and speculative fiction online.
Read at Futurism
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