China has unveiled its latest technological breakthrough that could change the future of naval warfare.
Aerospace engineers in the East Asian superpower have developed what is believed to be the world's first high-speed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone powered by a jet engine.
The drones are commonly used for mapping, firing weapons, delivering goods and for carrying out large scale surveillance operations - but need long runways or aircraft carriers when taking off and landing.
However, the new VTOLs, which were developed over 10 years by professors Wang Yaokun and Qiu Yuting, combine vertical lifting and jet power to make them quicker and sleeker at getting off the ground.
The breakthrough was unveiled at Beihang University, an institute targeted by US sanctions, and is being touted by Chinese media as 'potentially transforming every Chinese destroyer, frigate or amphibious vessel into a mini aircraft carrier'.
