Chinese UAV/UCAV development

caohailiang said:

i just saw this video about WZ8

what he basically is saying, the drone's max speed should be around M2.85 instead of hypersonic, judging from the airframes geometry. It is probably not a recon drone but rather a decoy to allure USN CSG to turn on its radar.

what you guys think?

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That youtube channel is not very good when it comes to the PLA and I have a generally low opinion of that channel because of his clickbaity titles. Yet the video was surprisingly good. Few things he addressed

1- The drone is likely not hypersonic for most of its flight. He also addressed that leading edge angle is not everything there is which was a nice addition.

2- His observations on control surfaces are spot on. Around mach 4.5 drag replaces lift as the preferred variable to manipulate for flight control. Thus, control surfaces of high speed aircraft look like wedges. On the WZ-8, the surfaces are airfoil-like. Just another argument that refutes the claim of hypersonic speed.

3- The payload is indeed a mystery. I would expect a mission specific SAR radar though.

4- The use of rockets signals cost-sensitivity indeed. But volume optimization shouldn't be discounted as well.

What I don't agree with:

1- Its range. Because of its apparently very-low wing loading and the use of rockets, it likely flies at around 40000 m rather than 25000 m. The lack of intakes would decrease the drag. I would expect a glide range of around 400 km rather than 240 km. Such a high flight altitude would also enable a much longer engine burn time.

2- I wouldn't be sure about its metallicity. Ceramics shine as well. In fact, looking at the riveting, I think the outer skin is made of ceramics.

SanWenYu said:

This thing looks fragile. Why did not they go with a multi-plane wing design which could provide enough room for the solar power cells at the same time being more rigid structurally?

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Pressure zones around wings are much larger than wings themselves. This leads to wings having lower lift coefficients in multi wing aircraft. A higher aspect ratio also means less of the wing is affected by wingtip flow. A single wing design would be a lot less draggy than a multi-wing design.

From watching his previous videos I think he probably got some kind of background in aerodynamics and avionics. When he sticks to that subject, like in this video, his content can be quite good. When he deviates from that then it becomes way more questionable.

And guys, I already said this, but he is Italian.

gelgoog said:

From watching his previous videos I think he probably got some kind of background in aerodynamics and avionics. When he sticks to that subject, like in this video, his content can be quite good. When he deviates from that then it becomes way more questionable.

And guys, I already said this, but he is Italian.

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So he's an Italian plumber wearing a dead animal on his head. I should call him from now on.

Doesn't the forum software have a way of blocking specific URLs or hyperlinks from being posted in the first? These same Youtube and Twitter personalities just keep popping up again and again. It's getting really tiresome.

End of OT rant.

Turkey's new drone looks like a J-20.

AssassinsMace said:

Turkey's new drone looks like a J-20.

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Does MSM call this a copycat?

Aerial mobile signal relay in earthquake zone:


2022-09-06 22:41:40Xinhua Editor : Wang Fan

China's large civil unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Wing Loong-2H has been deployed to support emergency communications after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Sichuan Province on Monday, according to the UAV's developer.
The Wing Loong-2H was sent to conduct the mission after the quake jolted Sichuan's Luding County at 12:52 p.m. Monday, leading to casualties and damage to buildings and roads.
The large UAV flew into the pre-set mission area at 6:44 p.m. Monday and started to provide survey and emergency communication support, said the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading planemaker.
It helped establish an airborne communication network and sent real-time images of the quake-hit areas, supporting relief work and ensuring effective rescue operations.
The Wing Loong-2H features multiple attributes such as long range, long endurance, high payload and strong environmental adaptability, thus making it possible to serve diverse missions in extreme disaster-hit regions where traffic, power supply and network communications are disrupted, according to the AVIC.
A total of 66 people have died as a result of the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked Luding and neighboring regions on Monday. Fifteen people were missing and 253 were injured, local authorities said Tuesday.
Sichuan has activated the highest level of emergency response for the earthquake.
Based on the Wing Loong-2 unmanned aircraft system, the AVIC developed the Wing Loong-2H to specifically serve emergency relief and rescue needs by carrying out missions such as disaster survey, emergency communication support and supplies delivery.
The Wing Loong-2H had already carried out various relief missions and was gradually integrated into the emergency rescue system, helping enhance the country's emergency rescue capabilities, said the AVIC.
Prior to the latest application, diverse models of Wing Loong large civil UAVs had shown their capabilities and adaptabilities in serving various missions such as telecommunications restoration, marine meteorological observation, and ecological protection, among others.

WingLoong-2H beaming live video feeds from the earthquake zone.

WingLoong-2H was heading for the disaster zone in southwestern Sichuan only three hours after the earthquake struck.

by78 said:

WingLoong-2H was heading for the disaster zone in southwestern Sichuan only three hours after the earthquake struck.

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The camera on the UAV is actually quite high quality, I wonder if the military version would be even higher resolution for ISR purposes.