Chinese UAV/UCAV development

tphuang said:

I don't think it's possible to ask a stupid question here, since we know so little.

My guess is that the original design didn't get picked up. Maybe they brought in CAC to help and came up with Sky wing. That was probably a technology demonstrator. That probably didn't get picked up, so they went to spend more time working on the GJ-1 project and then the soaring dragon project. Maybe now they are going back to Skywing design because Soaring Dragon is not achieving the specs? It seems unlikely PLAAF will need 2 designs with similar roles from CAC/GAIC. Or maybe PLAN and PLAAF require separate designs.

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Thanks ... or maybe - that is my estimation - that Soaring Dragon II will be a surveillance / recce UAV, while Sky Wing II "could" become more similar to the US Avenger a striker UCAV, that could eventually replace GJ-1 later.

Deino

Some fan-art:

no_name said:

Some fan-art:

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Funny is that he used my Report for the Combat Aircraft Monthly and added his artworks ... Nicely done.

Heh...I didn't know that.

VD200 VSTOL UAV:

by78 said:

VD200 VSTOL UAV:

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If they can increase the endurance and range on this thing (in other words, size), but make it more compact, with say folding rotors , and a smaller landing apparatus so that two can fit in the place of a standard PLAN DDG/FFG sized hangar, then I think this platform can provide a very viable organic OTH sensor system for naval use. That will enhance ISR and provide an OTH datalink for shipboard AShMs.

But even a 3 hour endurance and 150km range as listed compares fairly favourably with the MQ-8A firescout.
What would be best is if they can quadruple that 3 hour endurance to ~12 hours and double, or even triple the range. If they increase the overall wingspan, but allow them to rotate and fold "upwards," then I bet that would quite dramatically increase the UAV's range and endurance, while also allowing it to use up some of the extra vertical space above it, given it is only 1.8 m high right now, far shorter than a typical PLAN helicopter hangar. Design the rotors to fold, and they could probably fit two, or even three, extra large VD-200s in a single hangar.

New Chengdu designed, artillery-launched UAV. It's used to designate targets for other guided munitions. I'm not entirely sure if it can also carry an explosive payload and attack targets directly (as what the third photo appears to illustrate).

by78 said:

New Chengdu designed, artillery-launched UAV. It's used to designate targets for other guided munitions. I'm not entirely sure if it can also carry an explosive payload and attack targets directly (as what the third photo appears to illustrate).

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The third and fourth photos just show it "painting" the enemy AFVs for what are presumably laser guided munitions.

Armed CH-3 crashes in Nigeria.

Cool, though the missile on the left seems to look a bit like a dummy model.