East Asia · Nov. 2 · Video 0:30

China announces a 'first landing'. So where is the video?

China's navy said on Oct. 30 that the GJ-21 drone had made its first takeoff and landing on the 'drone carrier' Sichuan, but no official video or photos of the test were released. The footage shown is archive footage. Comments from viewers abroad included 'I can't see a drone', alongside replies calling an Indian outlet's report 'fake news'. The 'world first' label is a Chinese expert's assessment given to the Global Times.

Sources

Footage: CGTN (YouTube: CGTN Europe, CGTN Español), China News Service (CNS) and Reuters archive (YouTube: NewsX World), illustration released by the Chinese navy, Chinese navy social media video (@ChinaMilBugle, YouTube: Hindustan Times), Chinese internet post (provided by Andreas Rupprecht), Chinese MoD, Chinese social media accounts, X @PLA_MilitaryUpd, posts by Weibo and X users
Music: "Invariance" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) / Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0