Chinese MALE, HALE (and rotary, small, suicide) UAV/UCAV thread

[Deino]

The Janes article states the 'improved' TW328-A (a.k.a TB001A, TB-A) features seven hard points. This is simply wrong. It has at least eight hard points, as seen from last year's Zhuhai show (see images below). I suspect Janes reached this conclusion because it had not previously observed a TB001A with more than four occupied hard points, which is silly logic. In all probability, TB001A has always had at least eight hard points.

Before the advent of the worldwide web and the attendant rise of crowd-sourced PLA-watching, Janes was considered authoritative in large part due to the dearth of alternative sources to crosscheck its information. In the past decade or more, Janes has been proven to be a less than competent observer of the Chinese defense industry, and this latest article is yet another feather on its cap.

@Taiban, please double- or triple-check information from Janes before sharing it here, or simply avoid it altogether.

Well, Jane's? What should I say and it is not meant as an overall bashing, but if you look who wrote this and similar reports?

I don't want to over-rate myself, but the general mess there was a reason to quit writing for them. It all started with a new editor - in fact the former one was a really cool guy and we had a very good cooperation - who constantly edited and changed so much that it barely had the original content left. Even more so, he or another consultant constantly were then named as main author (also getting their share of payment) and the final nail on the coffin was the discovery of the WZ-7 with serial number 21071:

In my report I noted that the serial proves it to be assigned to the 16th Special Mission Division's 48th Air Regiment, presumably based at Shangliao. The reply was, this unit and this base do not exist ... my reply, the number alone says so and yes, it was a formerly abolished unit, but it must be reestablished since then. Also there are images showing this base with several WZ-7s ... again the reply was, thsi base does not exist and the unit too since none of them is in Jane's database.

My reply again, that this is the news worth to report was turned down again with "we cannot say this since we don't have it in our database!" ... and who runs this database? Anyone want to guess?

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

Something interesting, a 1-ton drone that looks like a business jet...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1676932580866654208

 

[huitong]

Does anyone know the official designation of this UAV used by artillery troops? Is it a CH-91 variant or a new model entirely?

I would call it T-6D. D means “EW”.

 

[Deino]

I would call it T-6D. D means “EW”.

But may I ask, why "T-6"?

 

[huitong]

But may I ask, why "T-6"?

Check my UAV section and there’s a photo of it.

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

Reply done in this thread to avoid derailing the original thread.

Makes me think about naval application of drones. If drones are there to guide ultra long range missiles like DF series then it could be a game changer just like on the ground. Difference is it is a lot harder to hide operator at sea and drone range are limited.

WZ-8 is the fastest one available.

Otherwise, WZ-7 and Wing Loong-3 with extremely-long endurance and range will do.

Would it be possible to acquire midget subs that specifically meant to launch reconnaissance drones? It could possibly expand the proliferation of drones just like land-artillery.

The ocean is a vast, vast place compared to land. This in itself presents much greater challenges.

In the meantime, what are the exact functionalities and/or purposes of those drones?

 

[tankphobia]

TB001 Series UAVs are probably one of the most heavily armed UAVs out there, but are they actually expected to survive in a modern battlefield? It's not especially quick or stealthy, so even old AA systems should make quick work of the UAV.

It's still perfectly suited to counter insurgency, I'm surprised it has not been exported yet.

 

[Deino]

Check my UAV section and there’s a photo of it.

Thanks ... but may I ask, where this designation is from? It seems a bit off-sequence.

 

[LawLeadsToPeace]

TB001 Series UAVs are probably one of the most heavily armed UAVs out there, but are they actually expected to survive in a modern battlefield? It's not especially quick or stealthy, so even old AA systems should make quick work of the UAV.

It's still perfectly suited to counter insurgency, I'm surprised it has not been exported yet.

If they were to be adopted, they would most likely be for CAS and reconnaissance for the Army, not for deep strike, long range reconnaissance or penetration operations conducted by the Air Force and Navy. You don’t need expensive stealthy drones to provide CAS or recon missions. If anything, you need cheap ones with long endurance.

 

[huitong]

Thanks ... but may I ask, where this designation is from? It seems a bit off-sequence.

Sorry I don’t know the details. T-6 is just my guess, since BZK-006/ASN-206 was once called internally by NTU as T-18. This might not sound the best explanation, but it’s all I got.