Chinese UAV/UCAV development

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Miragedriver

Brigadier
Images of a new Chinese double fuselage UAV.

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Early Picture - apparently a digital filter applied - what may be a new SAC HALE UAV appeared on a Chinese website on 27 May. Source: Internet Via CJDBY

The images appeared on a Chinese website shows a new UAV Hale large, double fuselage and powered by a turbofan that could serve as a new multi-mission platform high altitude long endurance (HALE).

According to reports it was produced by the 601 Institute of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), the concept of large UAV double fuselage, named "973 Project" or "Shen Diao" ("Eagle Divine ') model that has been speculative conceptual drawings since 2012.

These drawings show a configuration with a canard wing leading edge and the main wing mounted far back, almost in line, but indicate that the platform can fly at high altitude, near the outer space, making communication and surveillance missions.

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Graphic of a Chinese publication showing the concept of employing a largely similar to Shenyang "Divine Eagle" UAV. Image: Internet Via Top81

However, what may be one of the first real images shows that the UAV fuselage employs two bulbous nose, while the canard wing mounts including, but not on the edge. A wing with higher elongation is mounted on the tail and a high bypass turbofan mounted between two vertical stabilizers.

Some early speculation images indicate that the UAV would carry a metric wave antenna mounted between the fuselages for fighting stealth missions. However, it is also likely that AESA radar and electro-optical systems can be mounted inside the fuselage.

Chinese sources indicate that the 'Divine Eagle' was the least influenced by discussions with Sukhoi Aircraft Corporation SAC, perhaps early in the last decade. At the end of 1990 Sukhoi watched the development of a HALE UAV concept canard wings and fuselage similar double, called S-62.

However, Sukhoi did not have the resources to develop their concept. SAC may also have acquired important knowledge but chose not pay for a program of co-development; a tactic often Chinese.

The Sukhoi S-62 concept also led to the series of unmanned aerial vehicles Zond midsize / large, seen in Moscow Airshow 2003. At that time the Sukhoi officials said China had expressed "great interest" in Zond designs.

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Speculative drawing of UAV ' Divine Eagle '. Image: Internet via CJDBY

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Speculative drawing (plan view) UAV 'Divine Eagle'. Image: Internet via CJDBY



Back to bottling my Grenache
 

AssassinsMace

Lieutenant General
Just throwing this out there being a non-expert. If there were AEW platform UAVs, doesn't triangulation help in detecting stealth? You can have a net of AEW HALE UAVs constantly in the air quickly covering areas that fixed stations could not. Look at how Japanese radar stations couldn't detect that Y-12.

My idea is more complicated but isn't JSF tech already laying the groundwork? Personally I don't think stealth fighters are 100% undetectable at a reasonable distance. I don't know how radar bounces off stealth but they're going somewhere and the other UAVs might be able know just by detecting the radar bounce off since all them will be connected. You may not be able to lock-on but they'll be something to start with and the AEW UAVs and whatever else will come in and swarm.

This was a part Huitong's entry on the Divine Eagle in his blog.

Together they act as an airborne multistatic radar system and are able to pick up the radar reflection signals of the same stealth aircraft from multiple directions. As the result the UAV can extend both the detecting range and accuracy of the AWACS against stealth aircraft.

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would become the first airborne anti-stealth radar system in the world and could be used to counter American F-22s, F-35s and B-2s.

I thought the US would probably come up with this first because of JSF tech. Seems China has made some major leaps.
 

Blitzo

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This was a part Huitong's entry on the Divine Eagle in his blog.



I thought the US would probably come up with this first because of JSF tech. Seems China has made some major leaps.

It's worth noting that UHF radar which is speculated to be aboard Divine Eagle, and other long wave radar, relies on the nature of the wave band which is inherently more effective against the stealth shaping of stealthy fighter sized aircraft, which is why they're favoured in the "anti stealth" role and why we see new UHF AESAs coming out these days advertised as such.

Whether Divine Eagle also has a "multi-static" capability for the anti stealth role is another matter, but IMHO the most significant reason for the "anti stealth" role is its expected UHF AESA.
 

plawolf

Lieutenant General
I am a little dubious about multi-static detection.

As far as I understand the technology, it relies on monitoring disturbances within the standard background EM fields to locate stealth objects as the move and disturb those fields.

The biggest problem I have with this is that it needs the stealth target to be between the main EM emission source and the detector to be effective.

For this to be operationally useful means you need to have either an EM emitter or the multi-static reciecer behind the stealth target to be able to detect it. So the stealth would effectively have to fly past or over your reciecer or transmitter for you to spot it.

Not only would that usually be too late to stop it from hitting its target at the very least, a clever opponent can target and destroy your emitters and/or transmitters as the approach to break your network before their stealth assets come between them for you to detect.

Muti-static detection was first discovered almost by accident, and the first proposed means of using it was to employ mobile phone networks as the 'emitter' and monitor anything that disturbs those signals. But that only works against targets already within your airspace, and needs your mobile networks to stay active. Which is unlikely to be allowed if your enemy knows that's what you might do, so they will just jam or disable your mobile phone networks.
 

Zool

Junior Member
VHF/UHF radar for alert detection of Stealth Aircraft is great (provided you are able to do so at range - otherwise you lose to BVR engagement), but the trick will be maintaining a solid track and then somehow converting that tracking data into a lock for your guided missile. Until that is reliably solved versus Stealth Aircraft, it seems to fall more into the role of an early warning system.
 

Blitzo

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VHF/UHF radar for alert detection of Stealth Aircraft is great (provided you are able to do so at range - otherwise you lose to BVR engagement), but the trick will be maintaining a solid track and then somehow converting that tracking data into a lock for your guided missile. Until that is reliably solved versus Stealth Aircraft, it seems to fall more into the role of an early warning system.

I don't think anyone is expecting Divine Eagle (or any other UHF based long range radar) to fill the role of a fire control radar... if Divine Eagle can act as a long range early warning and control system against stealth aircraft that would be immensely useful as it is.

Note, E-2D's UHF AESA has also demonstrated an ability to provide midcourse guidance for SM-6. While I can't see UHF or long wave radars providing terminal illumination very soon, I think new technology can can definitely allow them to provide superior early warning, detection, tracking of stealthy targets and possibly to support missile intercepts for midcourse guidance and datalinking prior to terminal phase.
 

Zool

Junior Member
I don't think anyone is expecting Divine Eagle (or any other UHF based long range radar) to fill the role of a fire control radar... if Divine Eagle can act as a long range early warning and control system against stealth aircraft that would be immensely useful as it is.

Agreed, and that is entirely my point. Provided the detection range is sufficient, it will make for a great early warning system versus Stealth Aircraft. Many people term ground based VHF/UHF systems and the like as anti-stealth, however there is still a long way to go I think between detection and then non-intermittent signal track and lock. It's a first step but the equalizer to Stealth Aircraft still remains, other Stealth Aircraft.
 
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