Chinese UAV/UCAV development

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Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
This is unprecedented first a private company Xin Jing aerospace that use to make model airplane for windtunnel, is now assembling WingLoong II designed by institute 611 part of Chengdu aerospace corp
All the UAV contractor are busy with both export and domestic order. So need to improve the supply side as well as implementation of the Civilian-military integration that is so important in time of need. It bode well for China integrated military supply capacity. From Henri K
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Monday, July 10 at 7:00 am local time, a military drone Wing Loong II successfully took off from an aerodrome in western China for an inaugural flight that lasted 45 minutes.

One might have thought that this is a truly mundane actuality, since the actual inaugural flight of the Wing Loong II program already took place earlier this year, on the 27th of February precisely. But the UAV in question is actually the very first military drone in China that was assembled entirely by a private company.

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Xin Jing Aviation (旌 航空 Sous) has been a subcontractor of the aeronautics sector in China. For the last ten years, Xin Jing Aviation has specialized in the design and manufacture of models dedicated to wind tunnel testing, but has sought to diversify, particularly in the field Of the production of drones from 2005 onwards.

In 2013, Xin Jing Aviation completed the end-to-end production of a flying wing drone weighing 550 kg and a wingspan of 5.5 meters. With this experience, it was in 2016 that she started working with the 611 Institute of the AVIC group, designer of the military drones Wing Loong, to become one of the final integrators of the drone Wing Loong II.


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By subcontracting the final assembly of its brand new armed drone program, the AVIC state group is responding not only to the Chinese government's call for "Civil-Military" integration, which creates a new channel To encourage innovation and reduce spending by avoiding double investment, for example, but also aims at increasing the overall production capacity to satisfy an increasingly demanding internal and external market, and Another serious competitor in the field of military drones, the CASC group, which comes from the aerospace sector and offers the Cai Hong drones like the CH-4 and CH-5 , also sold in the Middle East like the Wing Loong.

This rebalancing of the Supply Chain and above all the profit sharing, anticipated a year before the first flight of the program (2016), also suggests that the order book of Wing Loong II is full and the delivery schedule is tight, A situation which necessitates a more profound change in the industrial structure in order to meet them.

The headquarters of Xin Jing Aviation in Xi'an

With the success of the inaugural flight of its first Wing Loong II, Xin Jing Aviation plans to enlarge its assembly line very soon, which will pass at a rate of 10 drones per year.

According to the press release, it will create 208 new hires and generate an additional turnover of 380 million yuan, or 38 million yuan per unit (~ 4.87 million €).

It is still unclear whether it is the resale price in-house from Xin Jing to AVIC or whether it is the export price directly, but it already gives us an idea of the price of a Wing Loong II.

For the MQ-9 Reaper, for example, which weighs just 300 kg more than the Wing Loong II, its unit flyaway price (excluding support) amounts to just over US $ 22 million for the 361 drones acquired by The US military between 2002 and 2039, according
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.

According to the same statement, the Wing Loong II drones will, in principle, be dedicated to export. Factory 132 in Chengdu and GAIC (Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation), also subsidiaries of AVIC, should therefore handle production for domestic demand.

Another point is that the 611 Institute's ability to outsource the final assembly of such a drone means that the Chinese design office - which also designs part of the military aircraft for the air force and The Chinese navy, such as the J-10 , the J-20 or the hypersonic drone and the mini-space shuttle, has reached a certain maturity in its internal processes, including those of segmentation and the securing of models of Data, industrial ranges and strategic supply chain management.


The inaugural flight of the first MALE Wing Loong II drone dates back to February this year.

Wing Loong II is a MALE drone with an MTOW mass of 4,200 kg. Measuring 11 meters long and with a wingspan of 20.5 meters, the Chinese drone can take off from a base at a maximum altitude of 3,800 meters and fly up to 370 km / h and 9,000 meters 'altitude.

Its carrying capacity is 2,035 kg of fuel, plus 480 kg of armaments and 200 kg of internal equipment. The in-flight autonomy of the device is greater than 20 hours.

The sources indicate that Saudi Arabia, which has already acquired Wing Loong I in recent years, have placed an important order with AVIC to buy this heavier and more advanced version. The Chinese Air Force is also preparing to receive a number of Wing Loong II.

To be continued.

Henri K.
 
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Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
Another major Chinese armed MALE drone, the CHC-5 of the CASC group, made its first flight today. Maximum autonomy> 10,000 km / 60 FH.

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CH - 5 reconnaissance attack unmanned aircraft mass production type performed the first flight. Max weapon loading capacity 1000 kg, cruise distance 10000 km, maximum duration 60 hours, practical ceiling limit 7600 m. Airtime with AR-1 missile loading exceeded 30 hours
 
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PiSigma

"the engineer"
Another major Chinese armed MALE drone, the CHC-5 of the CASC group, made its first flight today. Maximum autonomy> 10,000 km / 60 FH.

DEsqxR9VYAA4_TG.jpg


DEsqybIUwAA_v-m.jpg

DEsq1uiUwAAqf6p.jpg


CH - 5 reconnaissance attack unmanned aircraft mass production type performed the first flight. Max weapon loading capacity 1000 kg, cruise distance 10000 km, maximum duration 60 hours, practical ceiling limit 7600 m. Airtime with AR-1 missile loading exceeded 30 hours
I feel like Chinese drone develop for these established models are entering a stage of development we normally see for cell phones. Every year a new model comes out with slight improvements. But the improvements are good enough you want to put down some cash to see what they can do next year.

The newer models that are not yet battle tested are coming along quickly as well. By the time they mature in 5 years or so, they might enter this cell phone style development cycle.

Hopefully no Samsung note 7 type of UAV
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
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Working staff prepares the trial flight of the mass-production model of China's unmanned aerial vehicle CH-5, or "Caihong (Rainbow) 5", in north China's Hebei Province, July 14, 2017. Introduced at an international airshow in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai last year, the CH-5 can conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, patrol, target positioning and strike missions, according to its developer. (Xinhua/Bai Guolong)

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The mass-production model of China's unmanned aerial vehicle CH-5, or "Caihong (Rainbow) 5", prepares to take off during its trial flight in north China's Hebei Province, July 14, 2017

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The mass-production model of China's unmanned aerial vehicle CH-5, or "Caihong (Rainbow) 5", prepares to land in an airport after its trial flight in north China's Hebei Province, July 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Bai Guolong)

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The mass-production model of China's unmanned aerial vehicle CH-5, or "Caihong (Rainbow) 5", completes its trial flight in north China's Hebei Province, July 14, 2017
 
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