The Wing Loong X debuts as China’s first long-endurance UAV designed for independent ASW missions.
IE.com Nov 22, 2025 06:14 AM EST
China has officially unveiled its latest large autonomous drone, the Wing Loong X, at the Dubai Airshow 2025. Ostensibly the same as its predecessor, Wing Loong drone siblings, this new drone is reportedly the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the world capable of fully independent anti-submarine warfare (ASW).
If true, this is a big deal, as anti-submarine missions are widely considered the most difficult of all maritime military aviation operations. The new drone is huge, with a reported wingspan of well over 65.6 feet, or 20 meters (that’s roughly the same size as a small business jet).
The UAV is capable of autonomous operations of up to 40 hours, and can operate with a ceiling of 32,808 feet (10,000 meters). This means it can sit over a maritime chokepoint for nearly two days, continuously listening for submarines.
This is something manned aircraft like America’s P-8 “Poseidons” can’t do due to crew fatigue and cost. One of the standout features of the new drone is its ability to drop sonobuoys.
These small floating sensors listen underwater for submarines. Traditionally, manned aircraft alone can deploy sonobuoys. With these devices, operators analyse the sound and then direct ships or helicopters to engage potential submarine threats, should they be identified.
World’s first autonomous anti-submarine drone
China claims the Wing Loong X can deploy the buoys, analyse the acoustic data onboard using AI, classify targets, and then attack. According to reports, the new drone can carry lightweight anti-submarine torpedoes.
If true, then this new drone could not only deploy sonobouys to detect submarines, but could also, in theory, track and kill them, all autonomously. If claims are bona fide, this is a huge deal, as drones like this would massively expand China’s control of the South China Sea.
Since their development, submarines have relied heavily on stealth. If China can put 20–50 of these drones in the air at once, each staying aloft for 40 hours, then beligerent submarines would face a new threat in contested waters.
U.S. and allied submarines, for example, would need to face and adapt to this new constant detection risk. The new drone would also remove China’s need to develop and build expensive manned anti-submarine aircraft.
Such aircraft typically cost around $220 million a piece, require a crew of between 10 and 12 specialists, and are constantly in need of repairs. This new drone, on the other hand, is much cheaper to build, can be deployed in swarms, and is effectively disposable in nature should it be shot down.
As impressive as this all sounds, it is not without its critics. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to decide whether something is a submarine (and potentially launching a torpedo) is extremely controversial.
But is it all hype?
Anti-submarine warfare is constantly plagued with issues like false positives when things like whales or merchant ships are detected. This is why manned ASW aircraft have highly trained operators, and the field is more of an art form than a science.
For a drone to do this autonomously, it must fuse radar, sonar, infrared (IR), and electronic intelligence to interpret contact patterns correctly. It is critical that it can also distinguish between real and ghost targets and predict submarine behaviour.
If China has solved even part of this, as is claimed, it’s a huge leap. That is, of course, if the claims are indeed true. As Army Recognition points out, China is famed for showcasing concept military tech long before it is proven.
On most occasions, unveiled tech is more properly classified as a prototype or mock-up, rather than a fully functional piece of kit. Whatever the case may be, the fact that China is working on such a drone is an interesting signal of its perceived threats and planned countermeasures.
CVD 