The state-run China Daily   says this is a big deal , declaring that China has “again narrowed the air-power disparity between itself and Western nations.” Others are skeptical. Chinese military bloggers note that, based on the photos, the  huge engine compromises its stealth , possibly because the Chinese Air Force has  struggled to develop its own engines . Some suspect that the Lijian is a reverse-engineered version of Russia’s Mikoyan Skat drone, equipped with a  Russian-made turbofan engine . Gerry Doyle at Sinosphere concludes that “the stealth features that would make a drone like this a potential balance-shifter  remain unproven in this design .” More From Quartz But though it might not be a game-changer, the Lijian is another landmark in China’s development of drone technology—part of a larger military buildup that the Pentagon worries could prove “ potentially destabilizing ” in the Pacific, as The New York Times reported last year. How might the Lijian “destabilize” things in the Pacific? Du Wenlong, a military expert, told Chinese reporters that the  Lijian’s combat radius is sufficient  to patrol the disputed waters around the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, which both China and Japan claim. It can also provide high-resolution video of activity in the disputed territory, a former People’s Liberation Army major general told T he South China Morning Post . Used for video surveillance, the Lijian would  escalate tension  over the islands, as Rory Medcalf, a security expert at Sydney’s Lowey Institute, says. “So, the Chinese have kind of put Japan […]

Source www.theatlantic.com