China unveils the Super Great White Shark, a UFO-like helicopter.

A mock-up of a strange, flying saucer-like armed helicopter was displayed at the China Helicopter Exposition in Tianjin on October 10.

The showcased prototype does not have cockpit glass, but the plastic body clearly indicates where it would be (Picture source: Twitter)

The 7.6-meter-long aircraft features a blended wing body design with the aircraft itself forming a wide ring with its cockpit placed in the center, which can accommodate two pilots. Vertical lift is provided by a coaxial rotor system with a diameter of 4.9 meters positioned inside the ring-shaped fuselage. The aircraft also has two small jet engines placed on either side which provides horizontal thrust for high-speed forward flight.

"The Super Great White Shark armed helicopter is a composite wing-body fusion high-speed helicopter configuration designed for the future digital information battlefield," the placard reads.

"In the initial stage of its design, it refers to the international excellent and mature helicopter design technologies, such as AH-64 Apache, CH-53 Sea Stallion, and Russian Ka-52, Mi-26."

"While absorbing their respective advantages, it adopts the internationally popular wing-body fusion (BWB) [blended wing body] design and the former. A new type of high-speed helicopter with a conceptual design of propeller blades has been successfully applied in helicopter design."

The helicopter has a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 6,000 kg, a top speed of 650 km/h, a ceiling of 6,000 m and a climb rate of 16.5 m/s. It will have a ferry range of 2950 km.

According to a CCTV report, a scaled prototype of the aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight at the 2020 edition of Airshow China in Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province.

According to the pictures, the machine is supposed to be piloted by two people sitting next to each other and is also supposed to be armed with at least two different missile types (Picture source: Chinese internet)