The newest UAV

[CCP]

 

[J20!]

Another shot of the new iteration of Chengdu Aircraft's (CAC's) HALE UAV project.

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[J20!]

They seem to have ditched the box-wing design for the more conventional large-wingspan HALE concept.

Another change is the switch from a large engine for two smaller turbo-jets or turbo-fans, its difficult to definitively say which.

This change is probably due to the need for higher thrust to produce a high altitude, high speed design like the Global Hawk or its naval cousin. Chinese aero-engine industry deficiencies in the small turbo-fan department are probably the cause for the twin engine decision.
That and the reduced, more manageable IR signature of smaller engines.


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[shiphone]

er....it's not the newest model, neither the so called new shape of "Xianglong " UAV...(they are not in the same class,Skywing is a much smaller one)

--------------------------------
Length: 8.9m
Hight: 3.44m
Wingspan: 18.8m
Take-0ff weight: 2.3 ton
Ceiling: 15000m
Endurance : >6 hours.

it's quite old project actually . the scaled model was displayed on Airshow Paris 2007 and Airshow Beijing 2007 under the name 天翼3（SkyWing-3）MALE UAV

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it's a CAC product which means it's designed by the CAC's design team not the Chengdu Design Bureau...the first prototype was spotted years ago (much earlier than the Xianglong UAV project)

years later, the prototype was spotted on the runway of CAC airport...the logo painted was "天翅" which was also translated as SkyWing...it conducted the low speed,high speed taxi , and test flied frequently for some time...

[video=youtube_share;PB7EThjHyFY]http://youtu.be/PB7EThjHyFY[/video]

we haven't seen it flying for quite a while and then when we thought it's dead, it jumped into our view again early this year with a new black painting coat.

at least two prototypes were made before.

obviously what in above post is the latest prototype with some modification, which means this project might have some bright future...

 

[nrj]

Any details on powerplant? Skywing was there on showcase even during paris airshow 2013

 

[shiphone]

Skywing was there on showcase even during paris airshow 2013

no ... the exhibits list:

JF-17
JF-17B two-seater
Y-8C
L-15
Wingloong UAV
MA-60
MA-700
Y-12F
AC-312

Any details on powerplant?

we thought the first two were flying with WS11 on JL-8/K-8 IJT...

 

[J20!]

er....it's not the newest model, neither the so called new shape of "Xianglong " UAV...(they are not in the same class,Skywing is a much smaller one)

--------------------------------
Length: 8.9m
Hight: 3.44m
Wingspan: 18.8m
Take-0ff weight: 2.3 ton
Ceiling: 15000m
Endurance : >6 hours.

it's quite old project actually . the scaled model was displayed on Airshow Paris 2007 and Airshow Beijing 2007 under the name 天翼3（SkyWing-3）MALE UAV

it's a CAC product which means it's designed by the CAC's design team not the Chengdu Design Bureau...the first prototype was spotted years ago (much earlier than the Xianglong UAV project)

years later, the prototype was spotted on the runway of CAC airport...the logo painted was "天翅" which was also translated as SkyWing...it conducted the low speed,high speed taxi , and test flied frequently for some time...

we haven't seen it flying for quite a while and then when we thought it's dead, it jumped into our view again early this year with a new black painting coat.

at least two prototypes were made before.

obviously what in above post is the latest prototype with some modification, which means this project might have some bright future...

Then I stand corrected. The SkyWing project has been so inactive at the Chengdu airfield that I and many others thought it was abandoned.

Good to see they redesigned it comprehensively. It looks like a proper long-endurance platform now. It's wingspan is much larger than before, which explains the engine reconfiguration.

Over the past few days, the Chinese boards had been buzzing with the news of an imminent Soar Dragon flight out if Chengdu. These pics led many people to believe this was the new Soar Dragon.

Adding to the confusion is the forward fuselage which also resembles the latest iteration of Soar Dragon - including what looks like Synthetic Aperture Radar arrays on the lower fuselage :

A quick question @shiphone... Of the Soar Dragon HALE and the SkyWing MALE UAV's, which is a CAC(611 institute)/Guizhou collaboration and which is an independent 611 project?


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[nrj]

no ... the exhibits list:

JF-17
JF-17B two-seater
Y-8C
L-15
Wingloong UAV
MA-60
MA-700
Y-12F
AC-312

I might have mistaken it for something else then. Or got confused between different variants appearing every now and then under different name.

 

[shiphone]

1.
Xianglong/Soar Dragon ---Chengdu Design Bureau and Guizhou Aircraft Manufacture factory
Skywing --- Chengdu Aircraft Maunfacture factory(not Chengdu Design Bureau)

2. Xianglong/ Soar Dragon's maiden flight won't take place in Chengdu...and Skywing is much smaller than Soar Dragone..

length:8.9m vs 14.3m
wingspan: 18.8 vs 25m

we thought the competitive solutions of Xianglong/Soar Dragon used to be the "Long Eagle" project from the BUAA ( Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics ) with the similar size but Skywing alike layout...

 

[shiphone]

I might have mistaken it for something else then. Or got confused between different variants appearing every now and then under different name.

SkyWing is the name for a serial of UAV projects from AVIC. group...

Skywing-1 is a civilian model and displayed frequently...Skywing 5 is a rotor wing UAV

Skywing-3 might be chosen by PLAAF already ,so it disappeared from any public occasions...we haven't seen its show on any expo for years. so I was a little surprised to hear your claim about its appearance in Paris last year...

 

[J20!]

2. Xianglong/ Soar Dragon's maiden flight won't take place in Chengdu...and Skywing is much smaller than Soar Dragone..

length:8.9m vs 14.3m
wingspan: 18.8 vs 25m

we thought the competitive solutions of Xianglong/Soar Dragon used to be the "Long Eagle" project from the BUAA ( Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics ) with the similar size but Skywing alike layout...

We agree. Soar Dragon is much larger and will carry a larger surveillance payload, which adds credence to the addition of winglets.

Where would Soar Dragon's maiden flight take place if not at Chengdu?



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[shiphone]

Xianglong/Soar Dragon ---Chengdu Design Bureau and Guizhou Aircraft Manufacture factory

it's a remote and quiet place ...LOL...so the rate of progress might be much beyond your prediction...

at least two Prototypes on the manufacturer airfield..