A promotional video released by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation on September 8, 2022 shows what seems to be an FH-901 suicide drone attacking a tank. Photo: Screenshot from the video

China on Thursday promoted its answer to the Switchblade suicide drone among a wide selection of advanced unmanned aerial vehicles popular on the international and domestic market, releasing a video showing them in action.

The video, published at a forum on unmanned equipment developed by State-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in Beijing, displayed live-fire shooting exercises by armed reconnaissance drones like the CH-4 and the CH-5, in addition to rare footage of the launch of the FH-901 suicide drone and the CH-10 tilt-rotor drone.

What appears to be an FH-901 suicide drone is seen attacking a tank target from the top, completely destroying it.

Observers called the FH-901 a Chinese equivalent to the US-developed Switchblade suicide drone. The Switchblade earned its recent fame in the Ukraine crisis.

The FH-901 can not only be launched from the ground, but also be released by aircraft in the sky, including by another larger drone, the Global Times learned.

Since 2004, the two drone series developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the CH and the FH, have been exported to many countries, and have seen wide application also in civilian settings for aerial geophysical exploration, forest firefighting, emergency mapping and emergency rescue. In the process, a large amount of application data has been accumulated, leading to constant upgrades in the drones' performance, the company said in a press release sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

As the main force in China's aerospace development and the core force of the national defense science and technology industry, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has been committed to the demonstration of unmanned combat systems and the research and development of unmanned equipment systems for many years, the company said.

There are dozens of unmanned combat systems and products featuring fixed wings and rotor wings, covering long, medium and short ranges, as well as flying at high and low speeds, marking a complete spectrum of different types of highly autonomous drones, according to the press release.

As representatives of the new generation of unmanned intelligent equipment, the drones have participated in several recent military parades, major exercises, border military operations and anti-terrorism operations at home and abroad, in addition to playing vital roles in emergency disaster relief missions, the company said.

Many products have been cleared for export, with excellent user feedback, according to the company.