China Tests ASN-301 Anti-Radar Drone Raising New Threats for U.S. and Allied Forces.

China’s Eastern Theater Command has released footage of a live-fire test featuring the ASN-301 anti-radar loitering munition, confirming its entry into front-line service. The weapon’s deployment highlights Beijing’s growing capacity to threaten U.S. and allied radar networks across the Western Pacific.

In a rare public video of its expanding unmanned strike capabilities, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command has showcased a live-fire exercise with the ASN-301 anti-radar loitering munition. Previously seen only at defense expos, the system is now operational, designed to home in on and destroy enemy radar emitters that support air defense networks. The test, released by Chinese state media, underscores how the PLA is accelerating efforts to develop precision-guided drones capable of countering U.S. and allied surveillance and missile-defense systems in contested regions such as the Taiwan Strait.
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The Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command conducts a live-fire test of the ASN-301 loitering munition from a mobile launcher.  (Picture source: Chinese social network)

The released video reveals a highly mobile truck-mounted launcher system equipped with six sealed tubular canisters, each capable of launching one ASN-301 drone. The launcher appears to be integrated onto a modified FAW MV3 6x6 tactical truck chassis, a vehicle already in widespread use across the PLA for transporting artillery and missile systems. This configuration enables rapid deployment and salvo launches of up to six drones, allowing the PLA to execute coordinated strikes on enemy radar sites with minimal warning and increased tactical flexibility.

For U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific, particularly Taiwan, Japan and regional U.S. forward-deployed forces, the operationalization of this system introduces a new level of threat to radar-dependent air defense networks. These loitering munitions can be launched from hundreds of kilometers away and are able to loiter patiently near contested zones until radar systems become active. This means key radar assets such as Aegis-equipped ships, airborne early warning platforms and ground-based surveillance radars could be hunted in near real time. With multiple ASN-301s launched simultaneously from mobile platforms, allied forces may face saturation attacks that overwhelm radar coverage and disrupt command-and-control cohesion during the opening phase of a conflict. The result may be temporary or permanent radar blindness, reducing early warning capability and leaving high-value targets exposed to follow-on drone and missile strikes. Unlike conventional air-launched missiles, the ASN-301 can remain airborne for extended periods, forcing radar operators to shut down systems to avoid detection or risk being targeted. This creates a tactical dilemma that degrades the integrity of integrated air defense systems across the region.

The ASN-301 loitering munition is designed specifically to detect, track and destroy active radar emitters across a wide frequency spectrum. Built for Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) missions, the platform draws inspiration from earlier systems such as the Israeli IAI Harpy, Germany’s Dornier DAR and Iranian Shahed-series drones. Unlike those systems, however, the ASN-301 is manufactured entirely by China’s domestic defense industry and has now transitioned from display model to field-ready weapon.

From a technical perspective, the ASN-301 is reported to detect radar signals between 2 and 16 gigahertz, covering the common operational frequencies used by early warning and fire-control radars. The drone features a delta-wing design with a rear-mounted pusher propeller driven by a small piston engine. Chinese sources list its weight at approximately 135 kilograms, with a body length of 2.5 meters and wingspan of around 2.2 meters. Maximum speed is cited at 220 kilometers per hour, with operational range reported at 288 kilometers and loiter time approaching four hours. The munition carries a high-explosive fragmentation warhead equipped with a laser proximity fuse, dispersing approximately 7,000 pre-formed fragments to disable radar antennas, sensor arrays and control systems. The radar-homing seeker reportedly has a detection radius of up to 25 kilometers, enabling final target acquisition in the terminal phase of flight.

The ASN-301 is launched using cold-launch mechanisms from its canister tubes, followed by immediate activation of its engine. Navigation is reportedly guided by a GPS-inertial system, with some variants possibly supporting data link updates for in-flight targeting adjustment or mission abort. Once launched, the launcher vehicle can quickly reposition to avoid counter-battery detection, making the system ideal for use in mobile, forward-deployed strike formations.

Deployment within the PLA Eastern Theater Command is particularly significant given the unit’s primary responsibility for operations targeting Taiwan and the East China Sea. The command is one of China’s five joint regional commands and plays a central role in Beijing’s deterrence and warfighting planning across its eastern flank. The appearance of the ASN-301 in this context suggests not only the system’s maturity but its integration into China’s strategic posture for regional conflict scenarios.

A defense analyst familiar with Chinese UAV development told Army Recognition, “The ASN-301 checks multiple boxes. It is mobile, cheap, difficult to detect and specifically built to blind enemy radar networks. China has moved past the testing phase and is now deploying this drone as a tactical option for suppressing sophisticated air defenses in a future fight.”

The operational concept built around two containers each with a nine-launcher mobile platform gives the PLA the ability to saturate enemy radar zones with multiple drones in a single coordinated wave. Combined with other loitering munitions and long-range precision fires, the ASN-301 enables the PLA to soften up enemy defenses without risking manned aircraft. It is particularly well-suited to attacking long-range radar systems such as the U.S. AN/TPS-77, Japan’s J/FPS-series, or shipborne radars like the SPY-1 used by U.S. and allied naval forces in the Western Pacific.

More broadly, the debut of this system in PLA exercises reflects an ongoing shift in Chinese military doctrine toward the use of loitering munitions as a key element in its offensive strike architecture. Rather than relying solely on manned platforms or expensive anti-radiation missiles, the PLA is embracing low-cost, persistent unmanned systems to achieve tactical effects and strategic disruption. The ASN-301 plays a central role in this effort by denying adversaries the radar coverage necessary to mount a coordinated air defense.

Export of the ASN-301, if authorized, could offer smaller militaries an affordable solution for SEAD missions and further expand China’s influence across developing defense markets. As the technology matures and sees broader deployment, its impact could stretch well beyond Asia. Loitering munitions have already reshaped battlefields in Ukraine, Syria, and Nagorno-Karabakh, and China’s new platform adds another player to the global race in anti-radar drone warfare.

At present, the confirmed operational use of the ASN-301 by the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command signals that this is no longer a conceptual platform. It is a mature weapon system integrated into a modern, mobile strike architecture designed to blind, disrupt and disable high-end enemy air defenses. For defense planners across the Indo-Pacific and NATO, it is a development that demands serious attention.