A Chinese startup is introducing a slew of aerospace products, among which are airships and high altitude balloons that can be used to form an "aerial wall" defending mainland Chinese airspace and the airspace above disputed waters such as the South China Sea.

KuangChi Science based in Shenzhen has invested $1.5 billion in a collection of projects it collectively calls "Novel Space Service."

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The service includes The Cloud (an airship with military and scientific uses); The Traveller (an unmanned high-altitude balloon with military and scientific uses); Manned Traveller (for bringing space tourists or military scientists to near space); Solarship (an unmanned aerial vehicle for surveillance and cargo transport) and the KuangChi Jetpack (originally called the Martin Jetpack built by the Martin Aircraft Company bought by KuangChi in 2014).

Taken as a whole, KuangChi's entire product range has undeniable military features suited to persistent reconnaissance over vast areas such as the South China Sea or the East China Sea.

That the company is courting the Chinese military market is illustrated by the homepage of its Cloud airship with an illustration showing a whirlpool destroying a U.S. Navy fleet consisting of two aircraft carriers and other U.S. warships, which is being observed from above, presumably by a Cloud airship.

A U.S. Navy battle group consisting of two aircraft carriers and it supporting warships is currently patrolling the South China Sea.

KuangChi is paying particular attention to pushing the merits of The Cloud, which "combines all disruptive innovation technologies" vital to national security.

It said this airship is a multifunctional platform with wide area coverage. The Cloud can serve either as an ultra high base station or as an ultra low satellite. Using its "super eagle eye monitoring," a network of Cloud airships can provide integrated services including communication, smart surveillance and big data analysis.

The airship's sensors can collect data from area of 80,000 square kilometers. The airship is suited to military communications and command systems, as well as the automatic identification of ships and aircraft in a restricted area such as an air defense identification zone.

On the other hand, The Traveler is billed as a research and space services platform that works in near space (20 km to 30 km altitude). It provides a wide range of military and scientific services, including high accuracy ground surveillance, high speed wireless network access and high resolution geographical mapping.

TagsKuangChi Science, Novel Space Service, The Cloud, The Traveller, airship, South China Sea, U.S. Navy