CH-5 drone testing two new guided weapons
BY
HENRI KENHMANN
27 SEPTEMBER 2017
Just two months after
its inaugural flight , the new MALE drone armed by the Chinese aerospace group CASC,
CH-5 , has already conducted a series of Air-Sol strike tests.
The last one was in mid-September in Gansu province, western China, where two new types of guided munitions were tested.
The first is a 100 kg laser guided bomb, the heaviest one ever tested by a Cai Hong (彩虹, meaning "rainbow") drone in Chinese, which is then supplemented by an Air- Surface of 80 kg.
Both are also developed by CAAA, the subsidiary of the CASC group, which is responsible for the design and manufacture of drones and related armaments.
Although the exact location of the test was not revealed, the images of the television report suggest that the drone took off from Jiayuguan Airport near the Gobi Desert.
According to the young chief engineer of the CH-5 program, other test shots have already taken place soon after the first flight of the Chinese drone, but this mainly concerns smaller weapons, developed for drone models more old and especially smaller as the
CH-3 and
CH-4 for example.
Several countries have already shown a keen interest in this new Chinese armed drone, CAAA says that negotiations will take place by the end of the year.
The CH-5 is a military MALE drone that is less than 12 meters long and has a wingspan of 21.5 meters. With an MTOW of 3,300 kg, the unmanned aircraft can carry 200 kg of internal payloads and up to 1,000 kg of external ammunition mounted on 6 points of transport, according to the information supplied by the manufacturer.
Its autonomy in flight varies between 40 FH / 6,500 km and 60 FH / 10,000 km, depending on CAAA sources. The CH-5 is powered by a 300 hp piston engine that is powered by fuel oil, quite atypical in this category of drone.
Characteristics Wing Loong II CH-5 Prototype CH-5
Length 11.00 m between 11 and 12 m
span 20.50 m 20.00 m 21.50 m
Height 4.10 m
MTOW 4,200 kg 3,000 kg 3 300 kg (?)
Internal loads 200 kg 200 kg 200 kg
Maximum external loads 480 kg 1,000 kg
Points of Carry 6
(12 munitions maximum) 6
(maximum 16 ammunition)
Propulsion Turboprop WJ-9A Reciprocating engine
(Fuel oil) Reciprocating engine
(Fuel oil)
Propulsion Power 600 hp 300 hp 300 hp
Maximum speed 370 km / h 220 km / h
Minimum speed 150 km / h 160 km / h
Ceiling 9,000 m 7,600 m
Endurance (FH) 20 FH on Armed Mission 36 FH 40 to 60 FH max.
30 FH with 8 AR-1 missiles
Endurance (km) 6,500 to 10,000 km
Take-off distance 1,000 m
Landing distance 1,200 m
Radius per LOS link 200 km 250 km 250 km
Radius per satellite link 2,000 km 2,000 km 2,000 km
Production cost 1/4 of MQ-9 Reaper
Unit price 4.87 M € to 8.00 M €
For the time being, the Chinese army has not bought any drone at CAAA, except for small hand-launch reconnaissance drones like the
CH-802 . The China Geological Survey (CGS), on the other hand, has just procured its first CH-4 for minerals and topography research.
The lack of visibility in the defense domestic market means that the manufacturer is mainly focused on exports, particularly in the Middle East.
For example, the Iraqi army has been using the CH-4B for more than a year to strike terrorists. Saudi Arabia has also imported an assembly line recently to build its own Cai Hong drones, but it is unclear whether this includes the new CH-5.
To be continued.
Henri K.