Chinese UCAV/CCA/flying wing drones (ISR, A2A, A2G) thread

Blitzo

General
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That looks like to be in a similar class as USAF YFQ-42/44. I guess China is not going for a high end CCA only force structure.

UCAV/CCA "class" is best determined by size rather than geometry.

YFQ-42/44 are about 6m long, from what I've read, and based on satellite imagery those display trucks are 12m long total, so the size of that specific UCAV/CCA in question (considering its tail overhangs the rear of the truck a few meters) should probably be about 10+ meters long, so somewhat larger than YFQ-42/44 class and thus likely a bit higher end.


That said we also know from the satellite imagery that even among the UCAVs/CCAs displayed, there will be some which are a bit smaller and some a bit larger, and there are likely other UCAVs/CCAs that won't be displayed in development/testing/service as well.


All of which is to say, it should be logical to expect that the PLA will go for a UCAV/CCA force which covers all categories, from high to low end. Even some previous statements from the grapevine that the PLA will focus on high end CCAs doesn't really rule out the likelihood of lower end CCAs and UCAVs being procured as well, because ultimately low end CCAs/UCAVs can just be thought of as high end reusable "effectors"/payloads anyhow.
 

ACuriousPLAFan

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That looks like to be in a similar class as USAF YFQ-42/44. I guess China is not going for a high end CCA only force structure.

Yes. Kind of suspected one of the two forward ones to be the case. Though the more interesting ones are the larger-sized duo at the rear of the formation.
 
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valysre

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It would be more helpful if we know the length of the XQ-67A next to it. Given how far away the MQ-20 is from the camera and perspective effects, 2/3 of the MQ-20 length seems more plausible, maybe 8.5m ish.
Assuming that the runway remains the same width, they both seem to be roughly the same length relative to the width of the runway.
 
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