Chinese UAV/UCAV development

They really want to sell this UAV and give unprecedented access to media and for the first time we have a look at the office of institute 611 where all the good stuff like J10, J20, JF17 wingloong come from. This article also tell the participation of large number of private company in design and development of WingloongII
On the final assembly line of Wing Loong II drones
BY



Chengdu, a Chinese metropolis of 10 million inhabitants with its history dating back at least to the fourth century BC. AD, it is also here that we find the "nests" ¹ of the 611 Institute, one of the largest aeronautical military design offices of the AVIC group, and also the Factory 132 CAC where the FC-1 / JF-17, J-10, J-20 and Wing Loong military drones are assembled.

Some give the nickname "Bird's Nest" at the site of the 611 Institute in Chengdu

After the Wing Loong drone development conference held last Wednesday in the city, which brought together a large number of private companies participating in the program, the local media were able to visit the places where drones are integrated and tested. , a privilege that had been reserved only on national CCTV television so far.


Wing Loong I and II on the final assembly line in Chengdu (Image: CCTV)

Entered the hangar, six Wing Loong II in gray deliveries are waiting for disassembly to be packaged and shipped abroad. The largest model of the Chinese drone family has already registered more than 100 aircraft in its export backlog, some even before its maiden flight which took place in February 2017.

According to the line manager, the production of a Wing Loong drone should go through ten different standard steps, ranging from "Cell component manufacturing", "Structural component integration", "Fixed point work", "Laying of electrical harnesses "," Pipe Installation "," Propulsion System Installation "," System Integration "," Individual Testing "," Integrated Testing ", and" Factory Test Flight ".

The final assembly site, "paperless", handles the activities from "Fixed Point Work" which will last two weeks on one machine, plus two more weeks for the integration of different systems, one week of tests and a week of test flights. On average, two and a half months are needed to complete the final assembly and launch a new Wing Loong II drone.

Also according to the same person in charge of the production line, the Wing Loong drones (I and II) are currently used by five different user countries, without however naming them or specifying if they are only export customers. But at least we know that China, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt already have Wing Loong among the ranks.


The 611 Institute and the 132 CAC Plant manage more than 100 external suppliers today for the supply of the 130 subsystems of a Wing Loong II drone. The production line today has a hundred or so staff, mostly engineers, for a current production rate of 24 aircraft per year.

Chinese aircraft manufacturers plan to to increase their design and production capacity, and reach the rate 30 in the near future in Chengdu.

But both private and national actors, such as Xin Jing Aviation (鑫 旌 航空) on one side and GAIC of the AVIC group on the other, have already joined the program, especially on the final assembly part, in order to satisfy the increasing demands of customers in terms of number of devices and delivery time.

At the other side of the assembly hall are flight test teams and several "containers" in desert camouflage. According to an interview with a flight test engineer, each ground station contains six positions, two for mission managers and two for pilots. Two drones can be controlled simultaneously by a single station at a distance of 200 km in LOS, or several thousand kilometers in satellite communication mode.





The journalists were also able to look closely at the "eye" of the drone, an optronic ball with four (?) Optical channels, including IR and laser tracks. The exact model remains unknown but it is similar to Loong Eye LE500 developed by a subsidiary of the AVIC group.



Some optronic balls offered by the AVIC export group


Henri K.

timepass said:

Originally designated Pterodactyl, the Wing Loong MALE UAV-series competes with fellow-AVIC subsidiary China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)’s CH-4-series in the market of strike-capable ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) drones. Between the two, AVIC has been able to secure a leading position in the Middle East and Central Asian markets. Saudi Arabia is believed to be among the Wing Loong’s users, though it is unclear if Riyadh is behind the marquee purchase of Wing Long II, the first major iterative variant of the Wing Loong and CADI’s largest overseas drone sales to-date.

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CASC is not a subsidiary of AVIC. CASC is making spaceships and space rockets. They make military drones maybe as a side project.

Upgraded version CH-4 UAV conducted a series of tests of various ammunitions in China, which include: 50 kg cluster bomb, 50 kg IR / MMW terminal sensitive projectile, 50 kg guided GPS bomb, 100 kg LGB, 100 kg GPS guided glide bomb.
New technologies like better carrying & power supply ability, the new data streamed framework tested on this version will also be used on the new gen CH-4C UAV.
ECM pod under the belly.
From Dafengcao

Wow seem to be networked and formation flying?
From Dafengcao
A different pod which is supposed to be some kind of communication equipment, it is capable of relaying LTE station signal and satellite comm, a critical equipment to fully cover the battlefield network.
A lot of good stuff in this piece, Fully loaded CH-4 basic version still can take off at an altitude over 2000m, it's easy for CH-4 carrying 4 AR-1 missiles to the height of 7200m, the carrying ability of CH-4 upgraded version increases 50kg to 400kg now.
achieving the formation flight, information sharing, distribute & process information in uniform. this project will provide the full solution of CH UAV for costumer."
Shi wen, the chief designer of CH family said in the interview:"we can't say any detailed info of a certain CH-4 variant (CH-4C?), there are too many black technologies in it." "To fulfill the requirement of a contract, we'll realize the joint flight test of CH-3 & CH-4,

The picture above is LTE and satellite relay station
Picture below is the full complement of bomb

Upgraded version CH-4 and payloads on display. From left to right: 2×50 kg LGBs, 2×100 kg LGBs, 100 kg GPS guided bomb, 100 kg GPS guided glide bomb, 50 kg GPS guided bomb, 50 kg cluster bomb, 50 kg IR/MMW terminal sensitive projectile.

PiSigma said:

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.

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If it was 1960, the drone/uav shot down was probably Ryan Firebee, since the drone was commissioned in 1955. the reverse engineering most likely resulted in the creation of WZ-5 recon drone

yuxiaochen said:

If it was 1960, the drone/uav shot down was probably Ryan Firebee, since the drone was commissioned in 1955. the reverse engineering most likely resulted in the creation of WZ-5 recon drone

Click to expand...

Maybe, I have no idea. But if it did lead to wz5 then it would be a success. My mom basically said she and her sister essentially lived with the Mao's for a couple of months while my grandparents team worked on this.

China’s Swarms of Smart Drones Have Enormous Military Potential
China is making rapid strides in the potential deployment of drone swarms in conflict.

By Scott N. Romaniuk and Tobias Burgers
February 03, 2018


China set a world record in December 2017 at the when it succeeded in mobilizing the largest swarm of drones in history. Over 1,000 miniature drones performed a variety of tasks to showcase the collective orchestration of the high-tech instruments.

The future of drone swarms and their implications on the future of warfare are topics of much debate. The idea of using drones en masse to overwhelm a target, achieving a tactical advantage through numbers, is a popular notion. However, the orchestration of China’s new drones illustrates more than the employment of sheer numbers and drones operating in close proximity to one another. The performance put on near the end of 2017 demonstrates China’s potential skill in effective swarm systems. Flying 1,108 tiny dronebots in as a single unit illustrated China’s acuity and interest in autonomous flight capabilities, not simply of drones but rather of smart drone instruments capable of much more.

Having shown its mastery of the key to successful drone swarming, China has moved beyond the initial steps in the process. Programmed units have also proven their capacity for independent thought. During its swarming demonstrations, the miniature drones, when falling out of sync with the group or failing to achieve their intended objectives, would execute their own landing.


If drones swarms can be used for overwhelming and confusing military or security defense systems, allowing conventional forces to almost freely enter into a particular environment, a conventional force will have achieved a major or even decisive tactical or operational advantage over an enemy even prior to engagement. The United States’ (LOCUST) program, for instance, exhibits a system that rapidly discharges drones into the air from a single tube, like an anti-aircraft gun spewing hundreds of rounds in seconds. Given China’s success in replicating lower-tech versions of the U.S. Predator and Reaper, similar systems are equally attractive.

If the words “quantity has a quality all of its own” have resonated with China, then China has clearly merged that concept with the value of high-tech and (AI) to gain the most out of the concept of swarming. While the United States is still in the early stages of drone swarming, China’s demonstrations indicate that in some respects, it has surpassed the U.S. in this area.

The attraction of mastering drone swarms resonates in both the defensive and offensive realms of warfare. They can be used as part of air defense measures in the event of an attack and a major war, being operated by another aircraft and released in mid-air by fighter jets. In an offensive scenario, smart swarms can drastically undermine and neutralize enemy defense systems, freezing defensive elements in a given and allowing for near-free movement and roaming of offensive forces.

China’s mini smart drones are also reported to have self-repair capabilities. Fulfilling such a role is further indicative of a truly autonomous ability that can present countless benefits in the future. Network-based coordination and operation currently exists in the unarmed drones sector; however, the nature of flight patterns and movements is exemplary of an interest in military applications.

A swarm of drones, for example, can operate as if they were conducting an attack on a particular target type, like a warship or a lone tank. Once perfected, the swarm and its flight patterns can then be fine-tuned to account for the existence of small payloads. Short of carrying a payload independent of the drone proper, a drone could essentially act as a missile itself. Though previous simulations involved roughly , mastering formations of 1,000+ drones would radically change the outcome.

Far from practicing drone swarms in the air, close to the ground, and over water, China looks to apply its swarming capabilities in near space (approximately 20 km above sea level). In 2017, Beijing successfully tested its , for the purpose of gathering intelligence that can be used for military and security purposes. Mapping terrain and knowing the battlefield prior to an operation carries distinct advantages.

Testing that took place in 2017 involving the Academy of Optoelectronics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing resulted in the successful flight of drones launched by means of an electromagnetic pulse, which streamed toward their targets without human guidance. The drones, which reached speeds of 100 km/hr within the span of a meter, adjusted their trajectory and their altitudes along the way.

Coupling the ability to master drone use with drone swarms as a way of gathering critical intelligence and essentially seeing anything down below is promising as it would also present cost-effective ways of doing what do without the costs involved. The same operations can be conducted with instruments the size of a bird, therefore amplifying the flexibility of intelligence gathering competencies. The procurement of valuable intelligence regarding military presence of movement can have significant impacts on balances of power between states.

Chinese Air Force - For the First Time, Military and Aerospace Cooperatives Use Drone to Implement Joint Replenishment Exercise

Not sure if this has been uploaded, I got bored and went on google maps, looked at sansha city and found out that there's a BZK-005 parked at the airport, the date is unknown tho...