Chinese UAV/UCAV development

Probably. It makes sense to investigate the stability and control of a new aircraft shape and test it with a single channel Fly-By-Wire system, if that is necessary. It is a cheap way to look for problems. You may launch it from a tower and not install a power plant or a radio control. As a next step add power plant and radio control to an aircraft that is say twice as large in linear dimensions. The power plant may have been a pusher propeller type for the J-20 model.

The use of subscale demonstrators to qualify UCAV related technologies has direct precedents in the work carried out by Saab and Dassault. Saab's FILUR demonstrator, for example, had a wing span of 2.5M and an all up wieght of 55kg. Petit Duc was only a shade larger. Technology developed for both systems is now being directly re-applied in the Dassault-led NEURON program.

Here's some pics that popped up. Looks like an RC model.

Yeppp ... but they seem to land this thing on a carrier-model !??

Deino

the picture finally clarify some question, few months ago in the web, a picture of "H-9" bomber appear in the web, some newspaper even claim it was H-9 "sealth" bomber.
if H-9 bomber did indeed exist how come there are no report from west, give the size of aircraft it could easily been detected by satelite.it may turn out to be a drone.

... one more ...

The tailhook is interesting... I wonder if the subscale models are subscale because they wanted to test an automated shiplanding system on a smaller demonstrator first -- I'd thought the chinese aviation industry wouldn't need to create a subscale model first for a larger ucav... especially considering we are supposed to see the first of it from SAC within a year or so.

Hmmm ... but my biggest question is: Are these really "only" enthusiasts, which show their RC-models flown on a maybe AVIC-sponsored "family"-day ... or what ?

Deino

Fascinating. This looks like a model for a carrier based unmanned attack aircraft. A prototype might appear about 2014, but production will have to await extensive development and that will probably take many years.

Deino said:

Hmmm ... but my biggest question is: Are these really "only" enthusiasts, which show their RC-models flown on a maybe AVIC-sponsored "family"-day ... or what ?

Deino

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