CH-7 Rainbow

China's stealth flying-wing combat drone — the CASC CH-7 (Rainbow-7), a tailless, low-observable, high-altitude uncrewed aircraft for deep-penetration reconnaissance, strike, and long-range maritime targeting. Shown as a full-scale mockup back in 2018, it finally took to the air in late 2025 — the export-line peer to the PLA's GJ-11 and Russia's Okhotnik.

Overview

The CH-7 (Caihong-7, "Rainbow-7") is a Chinese stealth uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) built around a tailless flying-wing planform for low observability. It is developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), part of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) — the "Rainbow/CH" line best known for the export CH-4 and CH-5 strike drones, but with the CH-7 reaching into the high-end stealth segment occupied by the PLA's GJ-11 Sharp Sword and Russia's S-70 Okhotnik. Pitched as a high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) platform for deep-penetration ISR/ISTAR, strike, and long-range maritime targeting, it spent years as an airshow mockup before a flying prototype emerged in late 2025.

Development

The CH-7 was first unveiled as a full-scale mockup at the Airshow China (Zhuhai) exhibition in 2018, then went quiet and was redesigned; a mockup reappeared, displayed with air-to-surface weapons, at Airshow China 2024, as Janes noted, and Chinese state media (Global Times) had reported in February 2024 that the program "concluded testing." A first, unofficial in-flight image surfaced on 11 November 2025, and around 15 December 2025 Chinese state media published video confirming the maiden flight, as reported by The Aviationist and AeroTime. CASC chief designer Li Jianhua said the inaugural flight was meant to validate the aircraft's "basic flight characteristics" and "the rationality of its design scheme." The flying prototype differs in detail from the 2018 mockup, and the program remains in flight test rather than service.

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