Here is write up on the new UAV
HALE TYW-1 drone from Beihang University rolls out
BY
The sector of complex drones continues to become commonplace in China, and as proof, the major manufacturers are not alone in being able to design, manufacture, test and even market this kind of higher-end products and we see emerging more in addition to Chinese universities that are also attacking this market. The latest is Beihang University, also known as the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics or BUAA, which today unveiled its new
TYW-1 "Tian Ying" drone (天鹰 in Chinese, Sky Hawk) , fresh out of the assembly line.
This High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drone is 9.85 meters long and weighs 1500 kg on takeoff. Its large wingspan of 18 meters, a lightweight cell made of carbon fiber and the piston engine saving it provide a good enough autonomy, namely 40 hours in flight at a cruising speed of 150 km / h.
The drone is also able to carry 370 kg of payloads and fly up to 7,500 meters.
According to Beihang company official Zhang Ying (北航 长 鹰 航空 科技), a subsidiary created by Beihang at the end of August in Taizhou for the production and marketing of general aviation and military UAVs, including the "Tian Ying", the latter will be used mainly in land or sea reconnaissance missions. For this it is equipped with a seven-channel optronic ball, "able to identify the numbers on a license plate flying at 3000 meters altitude and a distance of 50 km".
There is also the presence of four visible pylons under the wing, suggesting that the drone could also be armed, but this remains to be confirmed. The drone is obviously not equipped SATCOM antenna, at least not for the moment, however it seems to provide a C-band Air-Sol antenna under the fuselage for Line-Of-Sight (LOS).
In terms of production capacity, Beihang Zhang Ying plans to produce annually, by 2019, one hundred large and small drones, and one hundred medium-sized drones.
, or about 258 million euro at the current exchange rate.
The drone "Tian Ying" is doing its roll-out, accompanied by two BZK-005 (?) (Image: 浙江 卫视)
The 7-way optronic ball of the "Tian Ying" drone (Image; 浙江 卫视)
It should be noted that the "Tian Ying" drone was designed and assembled in only 14 months, as of September 2016, it is the same phenomenon observed as another Chinese HALE drone,
, also developed by a Chinese university. But this time the very short cycle could come from a very different reason.
Indeed, the characteristics and the aerodynamic configuration of "Tian Ying" are similar to those of another drone designed by Beihang, the famous
BZK-005 , which today performs strategic reconnaissance missions for the army of the air and the Chinese Navy (see our file "
"). We also see the two drones filmed together in the report of a local television channel.
It is more than plausible that the "Tian Ying" is a modernized and exportable version of the drone BZK-005, since it is a question of proposing this drone on the international market, if one believes in the same televised report.
A BZK-005 drone in a military parade in 2015.
A BZK-005 drone photographed by the Japanese Army over the East China Sea (Image; 防衛 省)
Henri K.
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