In the 2021 Zhuhai Air Show, the Chinese Air Force will constantly surprise countrymen people, and the Wuzhen -8, a mysterious model unveiled at the Zhuhai Air Show, is the most beautiful and feared Chinese weapon. As the first unmanned aerial vehicle in China to fly at an altitude exceeding 30 kilometers, the WZ-8 has far surpassed the first generation of the US military's "Blackbird" SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft in terms of flight speed and altitude.

The WZ-8 is 11 meters long and 5 meters wide. It can reach speeds of up to Mach 6 in supersonic flight and can reach a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (50000 meters). Even the most advanced air defense systems currently available cannot detect the WZ-8, let alone shoot it down with missiles. Because the altitude of most missiles cannot even reach the cruising altitude of the WZ-8. The cruising altitude of WZ-8 is in close proximity.

In the last century, the United States proposed the concept of "near space vehicles", which refers to the airspace with an altitude between 20-100 kilometers, also known as the "airspace transition zone". Due to the high altitude, it is difficult for ordinary aircraft to reach such heights. So, if a country develops a military aircraft that can fly in this airspace, then that country has the super power to seize air superiority. Being able to cruise in close proximity to space means,The WZ-8 is a strategic reconnaissance drone that must penetrate deep into enemy controlled areas during reconnaissance, thus inevitably facing various anti missile systems from the enemy. Therefore, the performance of the WZ-8 must ensure that its survival rate is high enough in the dense defense network.

At present, air defense/anti missile weapons worldwide cannot effectively deal with near space weapons and equipment. If the WZ-8 reaches the threshold of near space hypersonic equipment, its maneuvering range will be wider, and its flight trajectory will be unpredictable. Currently, various interception missiles are unable to deal with it.Based on this, the flight speed of the WZ-8 should not only exceed 5 Mach, but is also likely to reach around 8 Mach, with a flight altitude of over 35 kilometers, making it a reliable hypersonic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.Of course, if there is a demand, it depends on whether we have the technical ability. In this regard, we cannot obtain any reliable information from the official sources, but there are ways to do so. We can find some reliable evidence from some publicly available materials.