China's micro drone - Photo: BUSINESS INSIDER
Last month, China's National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) unveiled a new spy drone model that resembles a mosquito in design and size.
Introduced on China's military -defense television station CCTV-7, this micro-drone is about the size of a human fingernail and is equipped with small leaf-shaped wings and legs as thin as steel wires.
Super small drone: easy to fly, hard to last
Although it does not look as impressive as the large unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones currently used in Ukraine, the device's slim body is said to be capable of performing a variety of surveillance and covert combat missions.
“As a drone for surveillance of buildings, especially inside buildings, I can imagine it would be quite useful for transmitting video signals,” Herb Lin, a senior researcher at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation, told Business Insider.
However, the small size can also limit the use of this device on the battlefield.
“If it were real and operated by conventional power (battery), its flight time would be limited by the battery capacity. In addition, the device is very light and can be easily blown away by the wind. These factors make it not particularly useful for large-scale surveillance,” Lin said.
According to Business Insider , drones can be very sensitive to weather conditions, especially strong winds, rain, snow, cold, and fog.
The smaller the drone, the more susceptible it is to these factors, said Samuel Bendett, an adviser at the Center for Naval Analyses and an expert on unmanned aerial vehicles.
“Even indoors there can be conditions that affect the performance of this drone, such as light winds, drafts from air conditioning, open windows, or other obstructions,” Bendett noted.
Signal transmission is another issue to consider, he added, as the drone's small size makes it difficult to carry advanced equipment.
“While it is technically possible to build a micro-UAV like the one shown by Chinese developers, its actual performance will likely be much different,” Bendett added.
Creative effort
Aside from doubts about its actual effectiveness on the battlefield, some other experts say the new drone model is a sign that China continues to innovate in this field.
Michael Horowitz, senior fellow for technology and innovation at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), said the emergence of this micro-drone shows that Chinese researchers are particularly keen to promote technological innovation in the drone field.
However, he added that it is still unclear what the actual capabilities of the device are, when China might deploy the technology, or what types of missions they would use it for.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chuyen-gia-quan-su-len-tieng-ve-drone-nho-bang-con-muoi-cua-trung-quoc-20250707140706848.htm
Comment (0)