The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy deployed a new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing drone on a guided missile destroyer in an exercise in the South China Sea in late February.

An image released by Chinese media shows that a Sea Cavalry SD-40 VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being deployed with the People’s Liberation’s Army Navy (PLAN). It is not clear whether VTOL is in test or inventory.

Published on 26 February on China Military Online website, the image shows the hybrid fixed/rotary-wing platform operating from Luyang II (Type 052C)-class destroyer Lanzhou during a training exercise held in late February in the South China Sea.

Possible payloads of SD-40, are electro-optic imaging sensors, communications relay equipment or a mini-synthetic aperture radar.