Chinese UAV/UCAV development

Delivery of the first all-composite structure of the Wing Loong ID drone

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While the new Wing Loong II, which weighs more than four tons maximum on takeoff, has already sold more than 100 copies in the international market, the Chinese aircraft manufacturer AVIC now intends to expand its range of military drones he proposes today with a 100% composite version of the old Wing Loong I model, yet much smaller in size.

Having honored and assisted for three years by the experts of the Institute 611 Chengdu, which is one of the main offices of AVIC studies and designer drones Wing Loong, delivered last Wednesday the first all composite cell Wing Loong ID in its plant in Jiajiang (夹江) in Sichuan province.

According to figures provided by the Chinese private equipment manufacturer, this cell is 8.7 meters long, 3.2 meters high and has a wingspan of 17.6 meters and weighs only 330 kg, much less heavy than that of a basic Wing Loong I made of classic aluminum alloy.

If we believe in the Chengdu declaration earlier this year, the all-composite Wing Loong ID should start its test flights before the end of 2018. The cell delivered last week by Xinwanxing should therefore be used to assemble the first planned aircraft. for this purpose.







Appeared for the first time in 2016 at the Zhuhai Air Show, the Wing Loong ID, presented as a model at the time, is designed primarily to meet the needs in military reconnaissance, border surveillance and the fight against terrorism. contraband and anti-terrorist.

The Chengdu 611 design office plans to equip its new entry-level composite drone with a high-definition optronic ball and a synthetic aperture radar (SAR). But the locations are already planned to add communication or electronic intelligence instruments, and the four points of carriage will also allow the Wing Loong ID to transform into an armed drone with more than 10 models of guided laser or GPS munitions.

Compared to his older Wing Loong I, who flew for the first time in 2009, the new Wing Loong ID is gaining performance in many ways, including a reduced empty weight and improved aerodynamic shape. The new version is flying higher, farther and heavier.

In addition to being able to continue to exploit the commercial and technical potential of a platform that has already proven successful in China as well as in the Middle East or Central Asia, and eventually to win new markets, the Wing Loong ID is also a good solution Upgrade possible for existing customers, without them having the need to review the set of logistical support and staff training for example to move upmarket and address new needs.

via cirr
Phantom-6





From henri K blog
Phantom 6", the NWPU solar drone that breaks the record of endurance in China

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Admittedly, compared to the during its maiden flight, the 19 hours and 34 minutes achieved by the solar drone "Ghost 6" (魅影6) last August 28th seem to be a bad thing. But the machine designed by the North West Polytechnic University (NWPU), a renowned Chinese university and led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, still beats the record in the long run. flight made by this kind of aircraft in China.

According to the NWPU press release, the drone landed autonomously on a dirt road on August 28 at 23:04 local time, after a 19-hour, 34-minute flight over the Maowusu Desert (毛 乌 素沙漠) in central China.

This first flight of "Ghost 6" broke the previous Chinese record, held by its predecessor "Ghost 5" since June 2017, which was 16 hours and 9 minutes. The objective of the test is to verify the aerodynamic configuration of the machine and the energy management efficiency with little natural lighting of the Autumn and Winter seasons, which is only one third of that in Summer.

Although no technical details were revealed about the small Chinese solar drone, it is thought that it would not have exceeded 7,000 meters altitude during its maiden flight last week, since the text published by NWPU talk about the thick cloud and low light (毕竟 是 已 入秋, 加之 今天 云层 厚, 阳光 照度 不 强). It is still known that the flight is fully automated from takeoff to landing, and that the craft should have two small propeller engines from the photos.





The Chinese university team has been working in the field of solar powered drones for almost ten years now. As part of Program 863 and basic research of the State Administration for Science, Technology and the National Defense Industry (SASTIND), the "Ghost" project is supported by several provincial and national one of the demonstration projects in the development of a very long endurance flying platform, with a strong application interest in telecommunications as a Wi-Fi relay point, or in continuous ecological monitoring in nature reserves.

The various "Ghost" prototypes have already made about 100 flights to all corners of China, including the Kekexili, Changtang and three rivers in the province of Tibet, where the drones took off at more than 5,000 meters. altitude in high plateau regions.

The "Ghost 5" drone, for example, has completed level 7 downwind tests in stormy weather, as well as the automatic landing at night.

Note that apart from NWPU University, another Chinese institution, CAAA, a subsidiary of the Chinese aerospace group CASC, is also currently working on solar drones. The CH-T4 drone, with a wingspan of 45 meters for 14 meters long and 400 kg in mass, notably .


The CH-T4 solar drone from the CAAA Institute.

AssassinsMace said:

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What drone (company name/drone name) is this? Looks like a less stealthy Chinese version of the General Atomic Predator C

kyuryu said:

What drone (company name/drone name) is this? Looks like a less stealthy Chinese version of the General Atomic Predator C

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Sky Wing ... Wind Shadow... That pic is an artist's concept. Who knows if it'll be used for that purpose.

From CFTE's booth at the 6th Mianyang Technology Expo... I think these might be stealth target drones.

by78 said:

From CFTE's booth at the 6th Mianyang Technology Expo... I think these might be stealth target drones.

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Are stealth target drones' purpose just to mimic 'any' low RCS target (say 0.01m^2 etc.) or preferably similar to expected adversary targets' shape as well? In short why don't their shape look more like existing potential adversary stealth planes?

These are just models so their shapes do not really reveal what actual stealth target drones are actually shaped like if any really exist. The idea is to get low RCS and a small target. Preferably one that can fly at speeds and altitudes that match what actual targets achieve and maybe maneuver and have countermeasures. Existing targets throughout most militaries are less impressive than that comprehensive list which is understandable owing to costs.

However if Chinese air defenses want to test new counter-stealth methods and equipment, it would make sense to invest significant resources into creating higher performance stealthy targets that are like the above. This will give them a more realistic test for new counter-stealth assets. If we see these stealthy targets actually flying, we'll know they are probably there to prove and test newer technologies.

Supposedly, the image was taken of what is described as the Chengdu radar test facility. Unfortunately, my internet is whacked today and causing me headaches to take a look at the locale on maps, so I cannot geolocate the image.

I am curious what the members here think. What is that thing? Or is this junk?

Please, take the of the image with a huge grain of salt. It does have some interesting shots though of different UAVs.

Jane's is the 'blowfish' VTOL UAV has entered service with the PLAN.