Chinese UCAV/CCA/Loyal Wingman (sensor, A2A and A2G) thread

Index

Senior Member
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it's possible that this was a ch-7 instead?
China will not directly fly over the Philippines, it doesn't provide a tangible benefit and only gives risks of giving away signatures.

The author is simply a nationalist retard, claiming a RQ-180 flying over Philippines is "operational near China" is like claiming a Su-57 over flying Moscow is "operational near Ramstein".

Hyping up something that would be quite trivially detected and counteracted by a whole family of systems if it actually came close to Chinese airspace.
 

no_name

Colonel
Awhile ago there was a paper about larger UAVs that carries detachable UAVs sort of conformally behind the trailing edge of it's flying wing design.

I'm thinking, since UAV requires no on-board pilot, a scenario of replacing lost UAVs on a, say, type076 in conflict zone may simply involve a large UAV mother plane carrying 2 of the required UAVs ferrying from the rear of the line, then at a safe distance set the smaller UAV's free where they can then proceed on their own to land on the 076. After rearming and refueling they can then be sent into action under command of the 076.

They may even swap planes as needed for different mission profiles. There just needs to be large UAVs to carry over the ferrying in the middle of the link between rear ground base and the strike group.

This is for the case where the strike group is too faraway for the smaller UAVs range.
 

AssassinsMace

Lieutenant General
How about it wasn't flying over the Philippines...? Think like a American. There was an article I read about a previous Zhuhai airshow that actually said the J-20 wasn't stealthy because you can hear the engines. Well here someone spotted it in flight and took a picture... It ain't stealthy. Look at that "smoke" trail. It's David Axe. Remember how he was butthurt over Chinese people crowding around CAC cheering with pride the first flight of the J-20. Axe spun that as Chinese people inadvertently were spies giving intel for the US. Americans are upset at what was shown at Zhuhai this year. A lot of copium articles showing up. No more assumptions that they're only on paper anymore.
 

by78

General
A better look at the internal weapons bay of the FH-97A CATOBAR model + its munitions on display.

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ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
According to the CASC Rainbow personnel, the CH-7 is a tactical-level (战术级) V/ULO reconnaissance UAV, with the explicit purposes of battlefield ISTAR. It is no way meant to be a mini-H-20 as it has no weapons bay.

Posted by @沉默的山羊 on Weibo.

Hopefully China will operate strategic-level, V/ULO ISTAR UAVs (e.g. counterpart to RQ-180) and also mini-H-20 UCAVs in the future.

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Miyayaya

Junior Member
Registered Member
According to the CASC Rainbow personnel, the CH-7 is a tactical-level (战术级) V/ULO reconnaissance UAV, with the explicit purposes of battlefield ISTAR. It is no way meant to be a mini-H-20 as it has no weapons bay.

Posted by @沉默的山羊 on Weibo.

Hopefully China will operate strategic-level, V/ULO ISTAR UAVs (e.g. counterpart to RQ-180) and also mini-H-20 UCAVs in the future.

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So Shilao and 席亚洲 said the prototype didn't have an IWB. They mentioned in their podcast that "well you see all these weapons displayed... maybe depending on what the customer needs, everything can be flexible". I would conclude that this is purposed for ISTAR but also leave an open mind.
 

drowingfish

Junior Member
Registered Member
According to the CASC Rainbow personnel, the CH-7 is a tactical-level (战术级) V/ULO reconnaissance UAV, with the explicit purposes of battlefield ISTAR. It is no way meant to be a mini-H-20 as it has no weapons bay.

Posted by @沉默的山羊 on Weibo.

Hopefully China will operate strategic-level, V/ULO ISTAR UAVs (e.g. counterpart to RQ-180) and also mini-H-20 UCAVs in the future.

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what sensor is it using then? using radar kind of negates the purpose of stealth since as soon as you open up the enemy will know
 

Miyayaya

Junior Member
Registered Member
what sensor is it using then? using radar kind of negates the purpose of stealth since as soon as you open up the enemy will know

It uses electro-optical or photoelectric sensors (光电传感器)

From
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As for drones, an interesting point about the "CH-7" drone at this airshow is that it has replaced its weapon bay with a large electro-optical sensor. Since what was showcased this time is a prototype rather than a model, the performance and intended use of the drone are relatively clear—it is primarily designed for reconnaissance.

In the video shown during the exhibition, the main mission design of the drone is revealed as serving as an "electro-optical airborne reconnaissance platform." Leveraging stealth capabilities comparable to the RQ-180 (currently the U.S. military's most stealth-capable aircraft), it is designed to search for and track enemy stealth aircraft, providing target guidance for our fighter jets and long-range air-to-air missiles. However, according to friends present at the event, the PLA's greatest interest in this drone is not in the functions showcased in the video, but rather in its "stealth-enabled observation" capability, enabling prolonged tracking of time-sensitive targets on land and at sea.

In the past, the general imagination was to use non-stealth drones like the RQ-9 "Reaper" or "Global Hawk" for long-range electronic or optical reconnaissance outside enemy defensive zones, while stealth drones like the X-47 were used for attacks. However, with the advent of stealth attack drones like the "GJ-11," which have resolved the attack problem, it now seems that close-range "peeking" is the more attractive option.

If these two missions can't be integrated into a single model for now, then developing another specialized model becomes the solution. In today's era of integrated information and firepower systems, the value of an information platform is as critical as that of a firepower platform. A highly advanced and expensive unmanned reconnaissance platform is well worth the investment—especially considering that what might seem "expensive" to us could very well make the Americans think, "This is too cheap! Can I get ten thousand of these?"
 
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