Chinese UAV/UCAV development
- Thread starter AssassinsMace
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Four more.
The "China bought Iranian drone" news?
China isn't some 3rd world country whose military just buys the shiniest thing off the shelf because the generals are impressed by a show. Never has been, never will be. Chinese purchases foreign products, if at all, only after a very long evaluation process lasting years. Unlike some of our louder neighbors who are obsessed with on paper numbers, Chinese military thinks first and foremost about the integration into Chinese doctrine, logistics, maintainance, availability, etc.
China is perfectly capable, but if the news is true, and I have my own reasons not to doubt it, then this acquisition is meant to plug whatever gap Chinese strategic planners think there is in PGM capability.
We are basically in a simmering 3rd world war with a potential China-Taiwan conflict erupting at a moments notice.
Using cheap but effective weapons to degrade the opponents strategic civilian/military sites while keeping your more capable and expensive weapons stored keeps you prepared for a possible post Taiwan conquest conflict and/or deterrence.
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broadsword
Brigadier
Absolutely. Sorry, bro. I hit the button right just after your post.
There is nothing shiny or showy about a $20000 twinstroke moped engined suicide drone that is screeching its way to its target. But it is just as effective as a million $ cruise missile.
For non-battle tested weapons, sure. But why for battle tested ones that have proven themselves in various geographies and climates (Arabian peninsula, Middle east and the plains of Russia and Ukraine).
Iranian suicide drone need the folowing to launch:
- A truck, (any size will do but the bigger the truck, the more drones it can carry)
- A laptop to upload target data
- The drone itself (2x3 meters small)
If rebels under siege can operate these drones effectively while under heavy ISR, then imagine what the PLA can do.
Why can't China make a $20k drone, probably built from Made in China parts, if it can make million dollar cruise missiles, and also has some of the world's biggest drone, telecom and software companies?
None of those uses are maritime, which is the big requirement for use in Taiwan. Maritime use has more requirements like sea skimming at low altitude without being hit by waves in rough sea states, corrosion resistance when stored in high humidity near salt spray, low observability when viewed from above compared to an oceanic rather than desert or steppe background, etc.
In terms of interoperability, 1st thing that the PLA need to know is, are these drones compatible with both Beidou and GLONASS? That's a core requirement. 2nd thing, anyone can just launch and hope for the best, but how does it fit into the overall PLA air-sea-space doctrine? I mean I'd believe if the PLA bought a few hundred for evaluation and test purposes only, but 15k all at once does not seem likely to me.
They sure can, but it'll take some time before it enters service in meaningful numbers, while a potential (Taiwan) conflict can erupt at any time.
You are describing expensive AShM used on naval vessels. I'm talking about cheap suicide drones that are land based and truck launched.
Why wouldn't they work using Beidou or GLONASS? You are talking about Iran which has developed its ADS with heavy Chinese help to the point that the search radar for the 3rd Khordad SAM is basically a carbon copy of a Chinese radar. You think there is no reciprocity in this?
The article doesn't make it clear that all 15000 drones are going to be build in Iran. I'm sure there is offset or even license production of the drones.
The article also says 90 countries are buying Iranian drones, that‘s almost half of the world. How realistic is this?
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