Chinese UAV/UCAV development

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Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
PLAN is the main operator of this UAV
The Drone Index: Harbin BZK-005
MAY 16, 2017

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It’s isn’t hyperbole to acknowledge China’s stature as Asia’s reigning drone power. For perspective, consider how its neighbors, including India, Japan, and Russia, are hard-pressed at deploying UAVs on the same scale and level of sophistication.

The mysterious BZK-005 is a perfect example of Beijing’s commitment to governing its airspace. It’s one of the largest unmanned reconnaissance aircraft flown outside the US even if its true capabilities are still guesstimates at best. The BZK-005 is recognizable for its large air frame and swept wings. A prominent nose blister houses its navigational software and avionics. Underneath is a familiar optronic “eyeball” gimbal. The unspecified propeller engine is located between the tail sections.

The BZK-005 follows a conventional twin-boom layout and is identified as a MALE UAV whose characteristics are–for lack of a better word–extraordinary. It’s worth contemplating whether its origins can be traced to cutting-edge research or, like
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, the shadowy influence of an understated technology partner.

Examining the small body of literature on the BZK-005 reveals it’s a prized asset for the PLAN, who operate it from bases in mainland China. The BZK-005 is reported to have a service ceiling of 26,000 feet with an operational endurance lasting 40 hours.

The BZK-005’s maximum range is alleged to be at 2,400 kilometers and its flight speed reaches 170 km/h. Taking stock of these numbers inspires comparisons to the BZK-005’s closest peers. While some claim it’s a worthy analog to the MQ-1 Predator, it shares a greater kinship with
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and its European counterpart,
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.

It’s startling how China’s state-owned aerospace sector, with help from STEM institutions, succeeded at a long-range UAV where other countries didn’t. While the
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prototype almost became the most advanced drone in the world, it was never rolled out for any customers. India, on the other hand,
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that went on to achieve nothing.

Details on the BZK-005’s origins are scarce but it’s believed the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group didn’t begin production until the mid-2000s. It’s possible the BZK-005 entered service with the PLAN by the 2010s because it was late 2013 when the BZK-005 came to the world’s attention after Japanese fighter jets intercepted one in the East China Sea.

How many BZK-005’s are in use is a question mark at this point. But
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modified to carry 1.5 tons of ordnance is being readied for serial production in 2018. The model, called the TYW-1, is a project by the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (a.k.a. Beihang University) who were the original developers of the BZK-005 together with Harbin Aircraft.

The BZK-005’s current role is confined to intelligence gathering. This explains its deployment in China’s maritime frontier and other remote locations, such as Xinjiang, where surveillance is a premium. As an upcoming export product, the BZK-005/TYW-1 will be attractive to countries looking for security tools against terrorists and other internal threats.

Existing
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, like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmenistan, might be tempted by the prospect of owning a missile-carrying naval drone.
 
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Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
Here is the strike ,reconaissance version of fame BZK 005. I bet it will be much improved sensor
reflecting China's advances in radar, O/E, avionic, data link and computer
China’s Beihang Unmanned Aircraft System Technology unveils TYW-1 strike-capable UAV
Richard D Fisher Jr - Jane's Defence Weekly
15 November 2017
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1711835_-_main.jpg

China’s Beihang Unmanned Aircraft System Technology unveiled its TYW-1 strike-capable reconnaissance UAV (seen here) on 13 November. Source: Via YOUUAV.com
China’s Beihang Unmanned Aircraft System Technology unveiled on 13 November its TYW-1 strike-capable reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and what appeared to be a new version of the BZK-005 multirole medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV at the company’s new factory in the eastern Chinese city of Taizhou.
p1711836.jpg
Unveiled on 13 November China's TYW-1 strike-capable reconnaissance UAV features four underwing pylons and is reported to have a maximum take-off weight of 1,500 kg. (Via YOUUAV.com)

The TYW-1, which has a wingspan of 18 m, features the same pusher-engine, twin-boom, outward-canted stabiliser design of the BZK-005, the latter of which is believed to be in service with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The 9.85 m-long and 2.5 m-high TYW-1, however, is reported to have a maximum take-off weight of 1,500 kg compared with the 1,250 kg of the BZK-005.

According to Chinese media reports, the TYW-1 can carry a 370 kg payload, features four underwing pylons, has a ceiling of 7.5 km, an endurance of 40 hours, and can reach a top speed of 200 km/h.

The UAV is also equipped with an electro-optical system that can reportedly read a licence plate 50 km away from an altitude of 5,000 m. It also features both line-of-sight and satellite navigation and control systems.

The company also displayed what appeared to be a new version of the BZK-005 featuring a system mounted under the UAV's nose that could be electronic support measures (ESM), a radar, or a communication relay.

First revealed in a poster at the Airshow China 2004, the BZK-005 is believed to be in service with units of the People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF) as well as with a special group subordinate to the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.
p1711841.jpg
China's Beihang Unmanned Aircraft System Technology displayed on 13 November what appeared to be a new variant of the BZK-005 UAV. (Via mil.huanqiu.com)

In early April 2016 the BZK-005 was spotted on Woody Island in the South China Sea, and in September 2013 Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15J aircraft intercepted a BZK-005 flying near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.

Beihang Unmanned Aircraft System Technology is an offshoot of the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA), which originally developed the BZK-005 together with the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group.
 
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PiSigma

"the engineer"
I guess Beihang University is the cradle of UAV development in China
Beihang actually started unmanned aircraft research in the late 50s and early 60s.

According to my mom, who told this story not as a UAV history but as a "need to visit old friends" story. When she was 3, so 1960, my grandparents, both were professors at beihang at the time (chemistry and mechatronics engineering) had to do some very secretive UAV research. Apparently they shot down a foreign radio controlled drone somewhere, and needed all the experts in beihang to go reverse engineer it.

That's all I know... Mostly because when my mom told this story the drone was just something she knows about. The focus was on how she miss her babysitter (my grandmother's grad student call Li Min)... And if u don't know who Li Min is.. I will not go further, or else too much family history.
 

latenlazy

Brigadier
Beihang actually started unmanned aircraft research in the late 50s and early 60s.

According to my mom, who told this story not as a UAV history but as a "need to visit old friends" story. When she was 3, so 1960, my grandparents, both were professors at beihang at the time (chemistry and mechatronics engineering) had to do some very secretive UAV research. Apparently they shot down a foreign radio controlled drone somewhere, and needed all the experts in beihang to go reverse engineer it.

That's all I know... Mostly because when my mom told this story the drone was just something she knows about. The focus was on how she miss her babysitter (my grandmother's grad student call Li Min)... And if u don't know who Li Min is.. I will not go further, or else too much family history.
Wut. Is it *that* Li Min.
 

SinoSoldier

Colonel
1024px-Project_0901_Flying_Vehicle.jpg

The Chinese Project 0901 Flying Vehicle of CASIC shows another configuration of
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.

Interesting; I wonder if this is the same vehicle as the HiFire-like system that was tested in 2015 (photo posted below). It also seems that the Chinese may have built multiple Waverider-like vehicles, since reports of such tests extend back to 2011.

Sino-HiFire scramjet:
bfb71f65ly1feukxxztg1j20dy0cemz4.jpg
 

Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
The 611 Chengdu Institute will invest 1 billion yuan in 3 years to create a drone development platform. The production rate of Wing Loong I and II will reach 30 per year, Wing Loong ID 100% composite will fly this year and -III will be marketed in 3 years.
From Henri K blog
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