---
title: "New Chinese Military Aircraft Looks Exactly Like a Flying Saucer"
description: "China is building a flying saucer-like experimental attack helicopter, and according to state media, it could fly as soon as 2020."
date: "2019-10-14"
modified: "2019-10-14"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-aircraft-flying-saucer"
categories:
  - "Military"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "flying saucer"
  - "military"
  - "the digest"
---

# New Chinese Military Aircraft Looks Exactly Like a Flying Saucer

![China is building a flying saucer-like experimental attack helicopter, and according to state media, it could fly as soon as 2020.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/chinese-aircraft-flying-saucer.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Image via Twitter/ User @alert5\</em\>*

## Flying Saucer

Images from an aviation expo in China show a new Chinese military aircraft that looks strikingly like a flying saucer out of a [vintage UFO movie](<http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=25029.0>).

Last week, photos [started circulating](<https://twitter.com/alert5/status/1181838441434058753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1181881699317108736&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2F30281%2Fchina-reveals-flying-saucer-shaped-super-great-white-shark-armed-helicopter-concept>) online of a craft with an alien-looking outer shell and a central cockpit. By Friday, the state-run Chinese newspaper *Global Times* had [seemingly confirmed](<http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1166591.shtml>) that the vehicle is an experimental attack helicopter dubbed the Great White Shark, which could fly as soon as 2020.

https://twitter.com/alert5/status/1181838441434058753

## Alien Inspiration

A [detailed analysis](<https://www.twz.com/30281/china-reveals-flying-saucer-shaped-super-great-white-shark-armed-helicopter-concept>) of the project by *The Drive —* including a translation of a placard that accompanied the craft at the expo *—* argues that the vehicle probably generates lift using a 16-foot rotor that's armored by its outer shell, while two jet engines provide forward thrust.

*The Drive* also points out that the futuristic craft isn't the first to feature a [circular, saucer-like design](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/flying-saucer-flies-pretty-well>) — although military contractors have struggled to make the concept practical over the battlefield.

One thing's for sure: the concept shows that China, [like the United States](<https://www.twz.com/27098/watch-sikorsky-and-boeings-sb1-defiant-compound-helicopter-fly-for-the-first-time>), is trying to figure out what form the attack helicopters of the future will take.

**READ MORE:** [Flying saucer-like attack helicopter to take to the sky in 2020](<http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1166591.shtml>) \[*Global Times*\]

**More on flying saucers:** [*These Guys Built a Flying Saucer That Actually Flies Pretty Well*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/flying-saucer-flies-pretty-well>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)