Update: China's CH-7 stealth UAV conducts maiden flight

China's CH-7 stealth unmanned aerial vehicle has undergone multiple design changes and tweaks over the last eight years to resolve stability- and performance-related issues. (Janes/China Central Television (CCTV))

China's long-standing CH-7 (Caihong-7 or Rainbow-7) low-observable, tailless unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme has achieved a milestone after a prototype conducted its first flight, according to video footage published by state-owned media.

The 11th Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) also announced via state-owned media on 15 December that the UAV had conducted its first flight “recently” from an airfield in Northwest China.

“The primary objective of the CH-7's inaugural flight was to … validate the rationality of its design scheme and the progress of its key technological breakthroughs,” Li Jianhua, a CASC representative, said to the state-owned newspaper Global Times on 15 December.

Janes has previously reported on the CH-7's protracted timeline of development. The UAV has undergone design changes over the last eight years. When it first debuted at Airshow China 2018 at Zhuhai, the UAV resembled the Northrop Grumman X-47B. A key design difference, however, was the CH-7 has canted wingtips instead of the triangular wingtip edges of the US aircraft.

When it was shown again at Airshow China 2022, the CH-7's wing flaps had been redesigned. The wingtips were canted at a sharper angle and the UAV exhibited a lengthened central engine nacelle.

CASC initially described the UAV as a deep-penetration strike platform. In 2024, however, CASC described the CH-7 as a tactical surveillance aircraft with added electronic support and jamming capabilities.

Design complexities

Li said the UAV possesses a “greater number of critical technologies, making the [testing] process more challenging”.