Chinese Military Drone - The 2019 National Day Parade, held on October 1, was marked by the debuts of a number of new systems, some of the most consistent being various unmanned aerial vehicles/unmanned combat aircraft (UAV/UCAV). Recent years have also seen the introduction of a number of new UAVs into the Chinese military service (PLA), some of which have parallels with foreign equivalents.
This is a useful time to review some of the PLA's UAVs and what the future of PLA drone development may hold. Australia ranks 12th in the world in military spending in 2021 at $31.8 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Chinese Military Drone
Source: nationalinterest.org
It is a major buyer of US equipment in particular, as it has acted alongside the US in conflicts around the world. In 2021, it entered into an alliance with the United States and the United Kingdom to purchase nuclear submarines.
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Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Communist Party-owned Global Times tabloid in September that the drone would be among the first weapons to be deployed in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, while Western analysts also say the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) is likely to use large numbers of drones at the start of any war in an attempt to overcome the territory's air defenses. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which tracks global arms transfers, shows that China has delivered some 282 combat drones to 17 countries over the past decade, making it the world's leading exporter of weaponized aircraft.
By comparison, the US - which has the world's most advanced UAVs - delivered just 12 combat drones in the same period, all to France and the UK, according to SIPRI data. The Wing Loong II received significant improvements over its predecessor with a modernized hull, new systems and sensors, and better aerodynamics.
It can remain airborne for 31 hours for the ISR role and 26 hours when configured for offensive weapons missions. It was the first Chinese drone powered by a turboprop engine and could reach a top speed of 370 km/h.
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It can carry a payload of bombs, missiles and rockets weighing no more than 480 kg. The 9 m long and 1.1 tonne Wing Loong II has a wingspan of 14 m. An improved variant, the Wing Loong I-D with a composite material structure, flew for the first time in 2018. Despite the lack of refinement of the high-end MANN UAV produced by American companies, Chinese military drones have found export orders in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE
Source: www.militarydrones.org.cn
, Pakistan, Nigeria, Algeria, Ethiopia, Iraq, Serbia and many other nations with less restrictive export policies than those followed by Western suppliers. AVALON, Australia, March 2 (Reuters) - As close U.S. ally Australia prepares to counter China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, global defense contractors this week showcased advanced drones, long-range missiles and military communications satellites in
its biggest air flow show. While China is not known to have carried out a drone strike, it deployed the fighter jet in exercises around Taiwan in September following a visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island.
China christened a landmark new 290-foot ship last week – the world's first semi-autonomous drone ship. It will carry, launch, recover and coordinate the actions of more than 50 other autonomous air, surface and underwater vehicles.
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pic.twitter.com/CvxKUwhYcQ The Feilong-2 ("Flying Dragon 2") long-range combat drone is a bomber-like aircraft that its developer, Zhongtian Feilong Intelligent Technology of X'ian, China, says is approaching The B-21 is in some ways better in others, making it just as good.
The claim is simply absurd. Medium-altitude long-endurance drones can be described as UAVs with an operating ceiling of less than 9,000 meters and capable of flying for a relatively long time, up to 24 hours or more.
These UAVs tend to be powered by propellers rather than jet engines. Famous international MANN drones include the MQ-1 and MQ-9 from the US or the Heron system from Israel. The GJ-1 and GJ-2 are MALE UAVs capable of playing a strike role and are the locally operational variants of the original export-oriented Wing Loong I and Wing Loong II systems.
Both the GJ-1 and GJ-2 are equipped with EO turrets and the ability to fire small air-to-surface missiles, namely the KD-9/10 family of laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). As a larger aircraft, the GJ-2 is capable of carrying a larger payload and is also believed to be equipped with a chin-mounted synthetic aperture radar to further improve target acquisition.
Source: www.thedrive.com
Chinese Military Uavs
The GJ-1 and GJ-2 are considered the PLA equivalents of the MQ-1 and MQ-9, respectively. GJ-2 attended the 2019 National Day Parade as a display. “Many of China's drone programs are essentially technology demonstrators designed to support domestic ingenuity.
Local industry is working on these projects to improve their inspection, development and production capabilities,” said Kadidal of Janes. “However, once the concept becomes viable, China has proven to rapidly develop the platform for military deployment.” “Drones are an important part of China's concept of computerized warfare,” said John Schaus, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
(CSIS). "Advanced capabilities like these give China the ability to conduct missions far from its borders with far less infrastructure or political risk than if military personnel were physically present," he said. Despite articles written by some publications, there is currently no indication that a carrier-borne derivative of GJ-11 is in development.
The standard GJ-11 is also not compatible with transport operations, as it lacks a number of key features such as folding wings, a tail hook and reinforced landing gear. However, the expected size, range and payload of the GJ-11 will still make it useful for regional missions when deployed from air bases in China.
‘Good Enough’
High Altitude Long Endurance Drones are UAVs with an operational ceiling that can reach 18,000 meters; Like the MANN drones, however, there is no universal definition for a HALE or MANN UAV. HALE drones are typically powered by jet engines and are generally more expensive and relatively larger than MANNE equivalents.
The most prominent international HALE drone systems will be the US RQ/MQ-4 Global Hawk and the Triton family. The GJ-11 and WZ-8, as well as some other UAV designs such as the WZ-7 and Divine Eagle, all demonstrated a lack of information and imagery during the development cycle.
This naturally reflects the desire to keep the development of these projects relatively secret and reflects a high degree of operational security, but it may also reflect that the development of unmanned aerial vehicles can be hidden to a greater extent than manned aircraft.
Whatever the reason, the PLA's variety of advanced UAVs in service and under development suggests that the PLA has its own equivalent of more covert, project-type test and development black cycles, beyond the "standard" degree of operational security
The Wing Loong Ii Cost And Specifications
of the PLA. "When the DSR comes out, it's going to be diplomatic language that doesn't necessarily target China by name, but I think everyone understands the reality that it's because of China, its rapid growth and its military capabilities," he said on the sidelines.
from the Australian International Airshow near Melbourne. The piston-powered Caihong 4 (CH-4) drone has been upgraded with a heavy-fuel engine that uses kerosene, allowing it to operate at a higher altitude of 9,000m compared to 7,200m for the piston variant
gasoline powered engine. The new engine will also reduce fuel consumption by 20% while being cheaper to run. Although similar in design and capabilities to US-made drones, Chinese drones are also much cheaper, making them more attractive to global buyers.
For example, the CH-4 and Wing Loong 2 are estimated to cost between $1 million and $2 million, while the Reaper costs $16 million and the Predator $4 million, according to CSIS, the US-based think tank.
Chinese Military Uav Shortcomings To Be Addressed By The End Of The Decade
The other large HALE drone the PLA is pursuing is a large biplane commonly called the Divine Eagle. The aircraft is believed to be an Airborne Early Warning (AEW) UAV, where the jointed fuselage structure may allow the installation of conformal radar arrays on the sides and perhaps the forward surfaces of the fuselage.
Images of a prototype surfaced in 2015, but since then no images and little information about the aircraft's development and testing have surfaced. In 2017, satellite images showed more aircraft being produced, and a 2018 satellite image revealed the presence of the fuselage at a PLA air force base where it was likely being evaluated.
Source: www.suasnews.com
However, the Divine Eagle is not currently believed to be operational in the way that the WZ-7 is. WZ-8 was similarly opaque. Although the community has been aware of the development of some kind of supersonic reconnaissance UAV in recent years, its configuration and sensor mount were unknown, and no images of the WZ-8 have been leaked, other than a blurred 2018 satellite image of the aircraft at an air base.
Furthermore, even the WZ-8's propulsion method was not confirmed, as it was initially believed to be ramjet powered, but its appearance at the National Day parade all but confirmed that it was some sort of missing missile system.
any noticeable air intake. "Chinese companies understood that these North African countries are not rich and allowed them to pay not in cash but in installments, sometimes even exchanging drones for local natural resources such as minerals," Zhou Chenming, a Beijing-based analyst, told the newspaper
. South China Morning Post last year. Trends in international air warfare seem to include increasingly sophisticated UAV and UCAV systems. The opaque nature of the PLA's weapons development means that it is naturally difficult to confirm the exact status of their UAV designs.
However, evaluation of images, rumors, and occasional official releases provides some useful estimates, as outlined in this section. Going forward, the total size of the fleet of various types of UAVs will give strong hints as to the direction of the PLA's UAV goals, especially the size of the fleet of higher-end UAVs, such as HALE UAVs and stealthy UCAVs.
He noted that China's best-selling drone, the Caihong 4, is almost identical to the US-made MQ-9 Reaper, while the popular Wing Loong 2 is similar to the US-made MQ-1 Predator. "Many of China's UAV programs show Beijing's interest in creating a better platform than their Western counterparts.
Wing Loong 2 and 3 are examples of this, Kadidal said. "Based on Chinese statements, both UAVs are not only faster than their American counterparts, but are said to be able to carry a larger weapons payload." China's dominance of the global combat drone market over the past decade has
Source: cdn1.i-scmp.com
due in part to a massive state-funded effort seeking to raise the country's armed forces to “world-class standards.” Chinese President Xi Jinping has described drones as capable of “profoundly changing military scenarios” and promised at the Communist Party Congress last year
to “accelerate the development of unmanned, intelligent combat capabilities.” The WJ-700 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE), unveiled in August 2020, and the Sky Hawk, CH-7 stealth drones developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC
), are an example of the rapid progress China's drone industry is making. The armed WJ-700 has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 3.5 tonnes and will also be able to to perform ISR missions. And we know even less about Feilong-2;
all we have is basically a shot of the drone from the side, with many of the details hidden. (Assumed to be in the main image above.) The B-21 Raider visual, by comparison, shows the full scope of the aircraft, nose to wing, and crit.
Chinese defense exports are driven by strong support from the Chinese Communist Party and, combined with existing defense partnerships built on decades of exporting cheap suppressors to Russian military equipment, have allowed Chinese firms to tap into untapped markets for military drone exports
. Malcolm Davies, senior analyst for defense strategy and capabilities at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said securing long-range strike weapons within three to five years should be a priority given China's growing threat to Taiwan and the high likelihood that Australia would
joined the US in battle. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest provider of multimedia news, reaching billions of people around the world every day. Reuters delivers business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, global media organizations, industry events and direct to consumers.
In Myanmar, the military - armed with Chinese drones - carried out hundreds of airstrikes against civilians and ethnic armed groups who opposed the seizure of power two years ago, while Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's flotilla of Chinese, Iranian and Turkish drones in Ethiopia was critical.
helping his forces thwart a rebel march in 2021 that threatened to topple his government. The Air Force announced the B-21 Raider in 2016, and the bomber is expected to fly in 2022. However, beyond the computer-generated imagery, neither the Air Force nor Northrop Grumman have released official information about the B-21.
The government's goal is to "accelerate the acquisition cycle" and move as quickly as possible once the review is made public, Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy told reporters on Wednesday. The federal budget is due in May and defense appropriations are expected to increase.
Firms are pushing for billions of dollars worth of purchases expected after the release of Australia's much-anticipated Defense Strategic Review (DSR) next month, outlining the force structure and equipment needed over the next decade.
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