I believe that the bomber role would be taken by the (V)LO FL-71 (if the UCAV does exist beyond blueprint stage) instead of the FL-2, which should be more of a (V)LO transport UAV.
Chinese Loyal Wingman (sensor, A2A and A2G) UAV/UCAV thread
- Thread starter VESSEL
- Start date
I believe that the bomber role would be taken by the (V)LO FL-71 (if the UCAV does exist beyond blueprint stage) instead of the FL-2, which should be more of a (V)LO transport UAV.
Some new development on the naval U(C)AV frontier.
So far, there appears to have three viable U(C)AV candidates for use onboard PLAN flat-decks (CVs and/or LHDs) in the future:
#1 - (Navalized) WZ-10 (likely ~3 tons) from Chengdu AC;
#2 - A new-type UCAV with a conventional wing layout (likely ~5-6 tons if not ~8 tons) from Chengdu AC; and
#3 - GJ-11 (likely ~10-15 tons) from Hongdu AC (and designed by Shenyang AC).
The GJ-11's probability as a carrier-based UCAV in the future should be mostly certain by this point, so it remains to be seen whether either of the two U(C)AVs (or both) from Chengdu will make it onboard the PLAN's flight decks (with the 2nd one being the more likely option).
The #2 UCAV should be related to (if not the main subject itself of) these. I believe the first two pictures have been posted in this thread sometime ago.
And an academic paper related to said UCAV:
The above and below information, papers and illustrations are posted by @伏尔戈星图 on Weibo. Considering his reputation, I suggest taking them with some grains of salt until things are clearer/confirmed.
So far, there appears to have three viable U(C)AV candidates for use onboard PLAN flat-decks (CVs and/or LHDs) in the future:
#1 - (Navalized) WZ-10 (likely ~3 tons) from Chengdu AC;
#2 - A new-type UCAV with a conventional wing layout (likely ~5-6 tons if not ~8 tons) from Chengdu AC; and
#3 - GJ-11 (likely ~10-15 tons) from Hongdu AC (and designed by Shenyang AC).
The GJ-11's probability as a carrier-based UCAV in the future should be mostly certain by this point, so it remains to be seen whether either of the two U(C)AVs (or both) from Chengdu will make it onboard the PLAN's flight decks (with the 2nd one being the more likely option).
The #2 UCAV should be related to (if not the main subject itself of) these. I believe the first two pictures have been posted in this thread sometime ago.
And an academic paper related to said UCAV:
The above and below information, papers and illustrations are posted by @伏尔戈星图 on Weibo. Considering his reputation, I suggest taking them with some grains of salt until things are clearer/confirmed.
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Continued from the above post: Here are the academic papers and patent(s) on what could be the navalized variant of WZ-10, alongside the focus on adjustable/new-type of arresting gears for catching light-weight, slow-flying U(C)AVs. Posted by the same guy on Weibo.
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More. Again, by the same guy on Weibo.
Continued.
Continued, again.
Spotted once again just recently.
Also spotted at Gaobeidian is yet another (U(C)AV) mockup that has wings with a large sweep angle for high speeds and two vertical stabilizers, which honestly looks quite similar to the one model carried underneath a H-6MW more than a month ago:
Zoomed-in:
Both photos were posted by on Twitter.
For comparison with the one found underneath the H-6MW in late-April:
Alongside the MD-22 from Zhuhai 2022 for comparison (though looks to be less matching):
