America's robotic air force gets all the attention – especially with U.S. drones continuing to blast suspected militants in Pakistan. But China is developing its own fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. High-flying spy drones, unmanned attackers, and handheld mini-bots are in Beijing's arsenal.

DefPro has a rundown of China's UAV programs. Many of them appear to be knock-offs of U.S. drones. The Xianglong ("Sour Dragon") is shaped like the American Global Hawk, and is supposed to fly almost as high: 60,000 feet. The Yilong looks awfully like one of those Predators the U.S. is now flying over Pakistan.

"China's copycat tradition goes back to the 1960s," Defense News notes. "Recovered U.S. AQM-34N Firebee drones lost over China and North Vietnam led to the production of the WZ-5 Chang Hong, which ironically may have seen service during China's 1979 invasion of Vietnam."Not all of the Chinese drone projects are rip-offs, however. As* DefPro *observes...

The “Dark Sword” is an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) concept which was displayed as a model at the 2006 Zhuhai air show. It is obviously designed for high manoeuvrability at supersonic speeds, having a flat, triangular shape with an additional large wing area and swing canards... At the Zhuhai air show, a staff member called the aircraft the “future of Chinese unmanned combat aviation”, emphasising its projected ability to evade enemy radar and to engage in air-to-air combat.

[Photo: Asian Defence; spotter; @TheDEWLine]