China tests a new Loong M9 attack drone modeled on Iran’s Shahed-136
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China is testing another loitering munition that closely matches the design and mission profile of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, the Loong M9.
As reported by OSINTWarfare on December 2, 2025, China is testing the Loong M9, a new loitering munition that resembles the Iranian Shahed-136 in both shape and mission profile. Intended for deep strike missions, extended reconnaissance flights, and all the types of attacks that have previously been associated with the Shahed, the Loong M9 now joins a growing list of Chinese drones modeled on the Iranian UAV, such as the ASN-301, DFX-50, DFX-100, Feilong-300D, PD2900, or the Sunflower-200.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Loong M9 possesses a wingspan of 2.5 m, a length of 3.5 m, an empty weight of 62.5 kg, and a maximum takeoff weight of 200 kg, for a maximum endurance comprised between eight and nine hours. (Picture source: Loong)
The M9 is presented by the Chinese company Loong as a heavy, long-endurance, oil-powered, delta-wing UAV designed for reconnaissance, strike, tactical assault, and aerial target practice roles. Using a rocket-assisted catapult launch system, the M9’s airframe is constructed through carbon fiber integrated molding to maintain structural strength while keeping overall mass low, and the design incorporates mild rain resistance to support operations in varied environments. The internal payload bay can accommodate up to 50 kg of payload in a customizable internal bay, including warheads, while the propulsion system draws on a 108-liter fuel tank that permits a maximum range of 1,620 km, suitable for long-duration or deep-strike flights. Additionally, the M9 integrates a dual visible light seeker tracking for target engagement, combined with a sensor-based guidance to support different operational profiles.
The Loong M9 possesses a wingspan of 2.5 m, a length of 3.5 m, an empty weight of 62.5 kg, and a maximum takeoff weight of 200 kg, which places it within the heavy loitering munition class. Its stall speed is 40 m/s, with a cruise speed of 53 m/s and a maximum speed of 62 m/s, supported by a climb rate of 5 m/s, pitch and roll angle limits of 15° and 28°, and a minimum turning radius of 450 m. The M9 is designed to withstand Level 7 winds (roughly 50 to 61 km/h) and operate between minus 25°C and 60°C, with an IP54 protection rating for environmental resilience. The engine is a 550 cc EFI unit with a starter generator capable of 1,000 W at 28 V, using a 33-inch propeller, while the fuel consumption is stated as between 10 and 12 liters per hour. According to Loong, the maximum endurance for this drone reaches eight to nine hours, while its maximum altitude is said to reach 4,500 m.
The Loong M9 integrates a guidance and communication suite emphasizing resistance to interference and the ability to operate during electronic warfare, with capabilities such as no-GPS return, GPS-free hovering, precision landing support, and an anti-jamming data link that uses broadband frequency hopping along with a multi-array, multi-band satellite positioning system. The reconnaissance variant of the M9 carries a wide-angle telephoto infrared camera with three primes and an AI-assisted night operation mode called AI Super Night Scene, supported by what is described by Loong as a long endurance smart battery, as well as additional smart flight functions that include features described as “shouting and throwing,” possibly indicating that the M9 can broadcast audio or release lightweight payloads. For strike missions, the drone uses a dual visible-light seeker tracking and a fixed-coordinate position strike mode, while terminal guidance supports attack angles between 15° and 70°. The rocket booster provides a total impulse thrust of 20 kN at 20°C with a burn duration of 2.0±0.2 seconds, for a weight not exceeding 23 kg excluding the bracket.
The company, Loong UAV, places the Loong M9 within a larger portfolio that includes reconnaissance drones, attack drones, FPV suicide drones, ground control systems, navigation devices, airburst equipment, bomb release mechanisms, data links, gimbals, and signal detection and simulation hardware. The product list includes Loong 8T for gun-sighted reconnaissance, Loong 3, Loong 4P, Loong 5, Loong 5H, Loong 7, and Loong 15 combat attack drones, as well as the Loong M2 series of FPV suicide drones, as well as Loong M5 5000 and Loong M10 suicide drones. This range indicates that the manufacturer supports multiple weight classes and mission profiles, reflecting a trend in which Chinese companies, such as AVIC, are building modular drone families to serve both domestic and export markets, ranging from small FPV drones to unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs). The Loong M9 is also directly comparable to the Shahed-136 drone, which has gained a significant reputation due to its large-scale use by Russia in Ukraine, where hundreds of drones have been launched in concentrated attacks on infrastructure and energy networks, taking advantage of their low cost, long range, and small radar signature.
The Shahed-136 emerged from Iran’s long-term effort to develop a wide range of drones as a response to technologically superior adversaries, benefiting from Iran’s gradual accumulation of experience in earlier creations like the Shahed-131. Developed by Shahed Aviation Industries, it first appeared in conflicts involving Houthi forces in Yemen before Iranian forces used it directly, and later became widely known when Russia employed it against Ukraine. Early skepticism about Iran’s drone programs diminished once the Shahed-136 demonstrated both a reliable long-range performance and a significant operational impact, despite sanctions and limited industrial resources. The drone’s design relies on a delta wing airframe with a rear-mounted pusher propeller, a small gasoline engine derived from a German model, and a warhead of roughly 40 to 50 kg within a total mass of about 200 kg. Its range, estimated between 2,000 and 2,500 km, and cruise speed around 185 to 200 km/h allow deep strikes against infrastructure or air defense sites while using simple GPS and inertial navigation instead of sophisticated or costly sensors. This approach favors mass production, expendability, and asymmetric employment at scale, which has proven effective in recent conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East.
The Shahed-136 is widely emulated because it reshapes cost-effective warfare by offering a long-range precision attack capability at a low unit price, achieved with commercially available components and straightforward manufacturing processes. Its affordability allows for a deployment in large numbers, enabling saturation attacks that force defending units to expend expensive interceptors, creating an unfavorable economic exchange for the defender. The swarm tactic enabled by its low cost has repeatedly pressured Ukraine’s air defenses, demonstrating how a large volume of inexpensive drones can offset an opponent’s technological advantage. The design’s simplicity and reliability reduce training requirements and maintenance demands, while GPS waypoint guidance provides adequate accuracy without resorting to advanced or expensive systems. Some newer variants reportedly use an anti-radiation behavior by homing on radio emissions, indicating that the basic airframe can be adapted into multiple mission variants with limited changes. These characteristics allow states with modest or constrained industrial capacity to produce a weapon that is accessible, scalable, and capable of sustaining prolonged operations.
From an operational point of view, the Shaed-136 is further emulated because it democratizes long-range strike capabilities, making them available to actors that traditionally lacked cruise missiles or long-range air forces, and because it alters the offense-defense balance by enabling deep strikes against strategic targets using inexpensive and expendable platforms instead of missiles or fighter jets. Armed forces increasingly perceive the need to field similar systems both to conduct long-range attacks and to train against them, since the Shahed-136 has shown that relatively simple weapons can impose high attrition on defenders over time. Defense industries across the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, and other regions are now being engaged in a competitive effort to develop similar drones, indicating that the Shahed-136 has become, ironically, a benchmark. In prolonged conflicts such as the one in Ukraine, a large stockpile of Shahed-inspired drones can gradually degrade even technologically advanced militaries, which reinforces the strategic appeal of this type of drone. Although many Shahed drones are intercepted, their value lies in the cumulative effect of repeated swarm attacks and the economic strain they impose.
Now, a wide range of countries have replicated or adapted its aerodynamic layout, mission concept, or production philosophy, leading to a broad proliferation across multiple regions. Russia employs the Geran-2, effectively a renamed Shahed-136, while also mass-producing these systems at the Alabuga facility at a rapidly increasing scale. The United States has produced replicas such as the MQM-172 Arrowhead and the LUCAS, while additional prototypes have appeared across the globe. In the ex-USSR, Ukraine fields the Batyar and Gupalo-N, Belarus deploys the Nomad, while Poland has created the PLargonia as both a target and a potential strike drone. In East Asia, Chinese manufacturers have produced drones such as the DFX-50, DFX-100, and the Sunflower-200, while North Korea has displayed a large system resembling the Shahed in shape and mission. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia developed the X-1500, Turkey produced the Azab in multiple sizes, Israel used the Delta-RS2, Egypt displayed the Jabbar-150, and India has also initiated programs for long-range loitering munitions in the 150 kg class.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
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China is testing another loitering munition that closely matches the design and mission profile of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, the Loong M9.
As reported by OSINTWarfare on December 2, 2025, China is testing the Loong M9, a new loitering munition that resembles the Iranian Shahed-136 in both shape and mission profile. Intended for deep strike missions, extended reconnaissance flights, and all the types of attacks that have previously been associated with the Shahed, the Loong M9 now joins a growing list of Chinese drones modeled on the Iranian UAV, such as the ASN-301, DFX-50, DFX-100, Feilong-300D, PD2900, or the Sunflower-200.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Loong M9 possesses a wingspan of 2.5 m, a length of 3.5 m, an empty weight of 62.5 kg, and a maximum takeoff weight of 200 kg, for a maximum endurance comprised between eight and nine hours. (Picture source: Loong)
The M9 is presented by the Chinese company Loong as a heavy, long-endurance, oil-powered, delta-wing UAV designed for reconnaissance, strike, tactical assault, and aerial target practice roles. Using a rocket-assisted catapult launch system, the M9’s airframe is constructed through carbon fiber integrated molding to maintain structural strength while keeping overall mass low, and the design incorporates mild rain resistance to support operations in varied environments. The internal payload bay can accommodate up to 50 kg of payload in a customizable internal bay, including warheads, while the propulsion system draws on a 108-liter fuel tank that permits a maximum range of 1,620 km, suitable for long-duration or deep-strike flights. Additionally, the M9 integrates a dual visible light seeker tracking for target engagement, combined with a sensor-based guidance to support different operational profiles.
The Loong M9 possesses a wingspan of 2.5 m, a length of 3.5 m, an empty weight of 62.5 kg, and a maximum takeoff weight of 200 kg, which places it within the heavy loitering munition class. Its stall speed is 40 m/s, with a cruise speed of 53 m/s and a maximum speed of 62 m/s, supported by a climb rate of 5 m/s, pitch and roll angle limits of 15° and 28°, and a minimum turning radius of 450 m. The M9 is designed to withstand Level 7 winds (roughly 50 to 61 km/h) and operate between minus 25°C and 60°C, with an IP54 protection rating for environmental resilience. The engine is a 550 cc EFI unit with a starter generator capable of 1,000 W at 28 V, using a 33-inch propeller, while the fuel consumption is stated as between 10 and 12 liters per hour. According to Loong, the maximum endurance for this drone reaches eight to nine hours, while its maximum altitude is said to reach 4,500 m.
The Loong M9 integrates a guidance and communication suite emphasizing resistance to interference and the ability to operate during electronic warfare, with capabilities such as no-GPS return, GPS-free hovering, precision landing support, and an anti-jamming data link that uses broadband frequency hopping along with a multi-array, multi-band satellite positioning system. The reconnaissance variant of the M9 carries a wide-angle telephoto infrared camera with three primes and an AI-assisted night operation mode called AI Super Night Scene, supported by what is described by Loong as a long endurance smart battery, as well as additional smart flight functions that include features described as “shouting and throwing,” possibly indicating that the M9 can broadcast audio or release lightweight payloads. For strike missions, the drone uses a dual visible-light seeker tracking and a fixed-coordinate position strike mode, while terminal guidance supports attack angles between 15° and 70°. The rocket booster provides a total impulse thrust of 20 kN at 20°C with a burn duration of 2.0±0.2 seconds, for a weight not exceeding 23 kg excluding the bracket.
The company, Loong UAV, places the Loong M9 within a larger portfolio that includes reconnaissance drones, attack drones, FPV suicide drones, ground control systems, navigation devices, airburst equipment, bomb release mechanisms, data links, gimbals, and signal detection and simulation hardware. The product list includes Loong 8T for gun-sighted reconnaissance, Loong 3, Loong 4P, Loong 5, Loong 5H, Loong 7, and Loong 15 combat attack drones, as well as the Loong M2 series of FPV suicide drones, as well as Loong M5 5000 and Loong M10 suicide drones. This range indicates that the manufacturer supports multiple weight classes and mission profiles, reflecting a trend in which Chinese companies, such as AVIC, are building modular drone families to serve both domestic and export markets, ranging from small FPV drones to unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs). The Loong M9 is also directly comparable to the Shahed-136 drone, which has gained a significant reputation due to its large-scale use by Russia in Ukraine, where hundreds of drones have been launched in concentrated attacks on infrastructure and energy networks, taking advantage of their low cost, long range, and small radar signature.
The Shahed-136 emerged from Iran’s long-term effort to develop a wide range of drones as a response to technologically superior adversaries, benefiting from Iran’s gradual accumulation of experience in earlier creations like the Shahed-131. Developed by Shahed Aviation Industries, it first appeared in conflicts involving Houthi forces in Yemen before Iranian forces used it directly, and later became widely known when Russia employed it against Ukraine. Early skepticism about Iran’s drone programs diminished once the Shahed-136 demonstrated both a reliable long-range performance and a significant operational impact, despite sanctions and limited industrial resources. The drone’s design relies on a delta wing airframe with a rear-mounted pusher propeller, a small gasoline engine derived from a German model, and a warhead of roughly 40 to 50 kg within a total mass of about 200 kg. Its range, estimated between 2,000 and 2,500 km, and cruise speed around 185 to 200 km/h allow deep strikes against infrastructure or air defense sites while using simple GPS and inertial navigation instead of sophisticated or costly sensors. This approach favors mass production, expendability, and asymmetric employment at scale, which has proven effective in recent conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East.
The Shahed-136 is widely emulated because it reshapes cost-effective warfare by offering a long-range precision attack capability at a low unit price, achieved with commercially available components and straightforward manufacturing processes. Its affordability allows for a deployment in large numbers, enabling saturation attacks that force defending units to expend expensive interceptors, creating an unfavorable economic exchange for the defender. The swarm tactic enabled by its low cost has repeatedly pressured Ukraine’s air defenses, demonstrating how a large volume of inexpensive drones can offset an opponent’s technological advantage. The design’s simplicity and reliability reduce training requirements and maintenance demands, while GPS waypoint guidance provides adequate accuracy without resorting to advanced or expensive systems. Some newer variants reportedly use an anti-radiation behavior by homing on radio emissions, indicating that the basic airframe can be adapted into multiple mission variants with limited changes. These characteristics allow states with modest or constrained industrial capacity to produce a weapon that is accessible, scalable, and capable of sustaining prolonged operations.
From an operational point of view, the Shaed-136 is further emulated because it democratizes long-range strike capabilities, making them available to actors that traditionally lacked cruise missiles or long-range air forces, and because it alters the offense-defense balance by enabling deep strikes against strategic targets using inexpensive and expendable platforms instead of missiles or fighter jets. Armed forces increasingly perceive the need to field similar systems both to conduct long-range attacks and to train against them, since the Shahed-136 has shown that relatively simple weapons can impose high attrition on defenders over time. Defense industries across the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, and other regions are now being engaged in a competitive effort to develop similar drones, indicating that the Shahed-136 has become, ironically, a benchmark. In prolonged conflicts such as the one in Ukraine, a large stockpile of Shahed-inspired drones can gradually degrade even technologically advanced militaries, which reinforces the strategic appeal of this type of drone. Although many Shahed drones are intercepted, their value lies in the cumulative effect of repeated swarm attacks and the economic strain they impose.
Now, a wide range of countries have replicated or adapted its aerodynamic layout, mission concept, or production philosophy, leading to a broad proliferation across multiple regions. Russia employs the Geran-2, effectively a renamed Shahed-136, while also mass-producing these systems at the Alabuga facility at a rapidly increasing scale. The United States has produced replicas such as the MQM-172 Arrowhead and the LUCAS, while additional prototypes have appeared across the globe. In the ex-USSR, Ukraine fields the Batyar and Gupalo-N, Belarus deploys the Nomad, while Poland has created the PLargonia as both a target and a potential strike drone. In East Asia, Chinese manufacturers have produced drones such as the DFX-50, DFX-100, and the Sunflower-200, while North Korea has displayed a large system resembling the Shahed in shape and mission. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia developed the X-1500, Turkey produced the Azab in multiple sizes, Israel used the Delta-RS2, Egypt displayed the Jabbar-150, and India has also initiated programs for long-range loitering munitions in the 150 kg class.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
