Sky Stalkers Chinese Military Commits To
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AIRCRAFt Sky StalkerS Chinese military commits to nmanned broad UaV development U riChard d. FiSher, Jr.• alexandria, Va. hina was until the late 1990s con- Compass navigation satel- tent to follow Western unmanned lite network could enable global Caerial vehicle (UAV) develop- UAV operations. Industry sources make ments and keep pace by copying or pur- clear that UAVs and unmanned combat Chengdu’s Long Haul Eagle chasing foreign technology. But when aerial vehicles (UCAVs) will be integral may soon emerge as the long- Richa R the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) parts of the sensor-to-shooter continuum range workhorse of the PLA. d d launched a modernization program in from the soldier to space. Fishe the late 1990s to prepare for possible The PLA is increasing its use of tacti- electric-powered, hand-launched UAV R , J conflict over Taiwan, development of cal UAVs at a moderate pace. Introduced with laptop control, based on a radio- R ./ d e unmanned systems were a high priority. in the early 1990s, PLA army units use controlled Styrofoam model. F ense technology inte The result has been phenomenal growth multiple versions of the Xian ASN-206, While the PLA has invested in a grow- in the UAV sector, which engages air- a truck-launched UAV with range of ing capacity to develop vertical-takeoff craft, helicopter, cruise missile and mod- 150 km (93 mi.) and 6-8 hr. of endur- UAVs, the services have been slow el aircraft companies, private concerns ance. These are seen increasingly to make wide use of them. and university research centers. During the 1990s, BUAA R At the third biennial Vanguard UAV developed small vertical- photos national exhibition in June 2010, 70 takeoff UAVs with coaxial UAV-related companies rotors for naval use, displayed their wares, while Nanjing Univer- and at the November 2010 sity of Aeronautics and Zhuhai air show, 25 indigenous UAVs While little is known about Astronautics developed were shown. PLA ambitions for UAV Shenyang’s Dark Sword UCAV, the Soar Bird series, with development cover the gamut from mi- it has the potential to develop its 900-kg LE300 model be- cro to tactical to strategic, and could into a cooperative platform for ing similar in size to the Northrop Grum- soon include stratospheric/near-space China’s 5th-generation fighters. man Fire Scout. A 320-kg LE300 version airships and hypersonic platforms. has been observed with an artillery unit. Increasing utilization of UAVs is con- in exercises, for example, supporting The Chinese Helicopter Research and sistent with the PLA’s strategy/doctrine long-range strikes by PHL03 300-mm Development Institute, designer of the Richa goal of “informatization”—the multiple-launch rocket systems. Some Z-10 attack helicopter, tested the 220-kg broad mili- versions use saucer-shaped satellite U-8E in 2006, a platform with 4 hr. of R d d communication link antennas. endurance, now marketed at air shows, . Fishe Introduced in 2000, the Nanjing though it is not clear if the PLA uses R , J Research Institute on Simula- it. China’s radio-controlled-helicopter R ./ d tion Technique’s compara- model makers have also produced e F ense technology inte ble W-50, a nearly slightly larger program-controlled 100-kg (220-lb.) vertical-takeoff UAVs for surveillance, UAV with 4-6 following on the RMAX copied from hr. of endur- Yamaha. Examples include the 120-kg, ance serves 1.5-hr.-endurance Servi-Helo. Several R national in some army companies are making small quad-rotor units. vertical-takeoff UAVs popular with po- A possible Chengdu-Guizhou UCAV, The hand-launched lice. In 2010 the Whirlwind Scout was first seen in 2008. ASN-15, a 6.5-kg UAV, is also fea- revealed, a ducted-fan vertical-takeoff tured in small-unit army exercises. model with 20-40 min. of endurance, tary exploitation of relevant information A version of the ASN-15 is carried by a similar in size and shape to the Class-1 technologies. Chinese microelectronics variant of the Type-89 armored person- UAV of the U.S. Army’s cancelled Future companies have developed sophisticated nel carrier equipped with a command- Combat Systems program. “cockpit” control and monitoring sta- and-control center. China is producing medium-altitude, tions and laptop programs for operating Some small UAVs in service come long-endurance UAVs, some with spe- UAVs. Chinese optics companies supply from the model industry. For example, cialized weapons as UCAVs, though in- systems for all sizes of UAVs. When com- the Poly arms-trading consortium troduction into PLA service is proceed- pletely lofted later this decade, China’s markets W-1, a 1.75-kg, 1-hr-endurance, ing at a moderate pace. Likely a product AviationWeek.com/dti July/August2011DEFENsE TECHNOlOgyINtERNAtIONAL 35 DT_07_01_2011_p35-36.indd 35 6/27/11 10:02 AM n n airCraFt a 650-kg payload and 7,000-km range, The Xian ASN-206 appeared in but there has been no confirmation of recent Chinese TV coverage of this program. a missile artillery exercise. Also in 2006, Shenyang Aircraft Corp. caused a stir with its Dark Sword UCAV concept, originally described as being for unmanned air-to-air combat, a description not repeated in subsequent nmanned displays. The inclusion of another model U in a special Chinese Aviation Museum display to commemorate the 60th an- niversary of the PLA air force in 2009 renewed concern that this could be an ongoing program, if only to allow the air force’s emerging 5th-generation fighters to employ a complementary supersonic unmanned platform for offensive and defensive missions. cctv There is considerable interest in near- of the Chengdu and Guizhou aviation based on its HJ-10 helicopter ground-at- space or stratospheric UAVs that the companies, the Predator-1 sized Pet- tack missile. The Norinco display added U.S. believes could serve missions rang- rodactyl-1, with 20 hr. endurance, was credence to the existence of a faster ing from surveillance, energy weapons shown for the first time at the November delta-wing turbofan UCAV program that deployment or heavy troop transport. 2010 Zhuhai air show armed with the first came to notice in a 2005 issue of a China Aerospace Corp. and university Norinco BA-7 optically guided missile, Chinese military magazine. The UCAV research centers are studying near- derived from the HJ-10 helicopter mis- was depicted with a missile like the BA-7, space platform concepts. Much of this sile. In development since 2004 and able raising the possibility that one or both research pertains to very-high-altitude to transmit imagery to other combat UCAV programs pre-date 2005. They airships that might initially focus on sur- platforms via a ground station, it is not could represent competitive programs veillance and communication relay mis- known to be in PLA service. or an attempt to develop complemen- sions, especially over the Pacific Ocean. First seen at the 2008 Zhuhai show, tary high- and low-altitude surveillance The PLA is investing heavily in re- the slightly smaller CH-3, with 12 hr. and attack platforms. search and development of hypersonic endurance, uses a canard design cop- At the 2008 Zhuhai show, Shenyang UAV/UCAVs for near-space and low- ied from the U.S. Varieze homebuilt Aircraft Co. showed Warrior Eagle, a Earth-orbit missions. In 2007, Chinese aircraft. It is armed with the FT-5 small forward-swept-wing subsonic turbofan sources revealed the Chengdu Shen- satnav-guided bomb and AR-1 optically UCAV that would operate in coopera- long, a small space plane that is about guided missile, similar in size to the BA- tive groups. Chinese officials, however, the same size as the Boeing X-37B small 7. Wall displays at the 2008 Zhuhai show would not answer questions about this space plane. There are reports it may indicated that the CH-3 could support program, and it did not reappear at the have had a sub-orbital test in 2010 or ground and maritime operations. While 2010 show. earlier. neither UCAV has been seen with a PLA The PLA is also pursuing strategic There are also unconfirmed reports unit, Pakistan selected the CH-3 for co- UAVs. So far, the main HALE surveil- that Chengdu tested a hypersonic tech- production and is testing a version of it. lance UAV in service is the BKZ-05, first nology vehicle similar to NASA’s X-43A. Turbojet and turbofan UCAVs have seen in video at the 2004 Zhuhai show. Chinese military-directed academic en- also been developed by the PLA. For al- Powered by a reciprocating or turbine gineering literature reflects broad inter- most a decade sources in Taiwan point- pusher engine, this twin-tail aircraft is est in hypersonic research, focusing on ed to the PLA air force’s growing UCAV- similar in size to Israel Aerospace Indus- engines, thermal protection materials, modified J-6 fighters, which number tries’ Heron, and the unit that operates guidance and airframe-engine integra- almost 300. These supersonic-capable them outside Beijing is reportedly sub- tion and design. One 2010 article by re- UCAVs could deliver precision-guided ordinate to the national strategic com- searchers at the prestigious Academy missiles, forcing Taiwan, for one, to ex- mand general staff department of the of Sciences Institute of Mechanics, pend surface-to-air missiles in defense. central military commission. proposed a Mach 3 platform that could At the 2002 Zhuhai air show, the Chengdu Aircraft Corp.’s Tianyi UAV, be manned or unmanned. The U.S. Air Guizhou-Chengdu combine was likely similar in configuration but about two- Force envisions a similarly capable plat- responsible for the WZ-2000, a high-al- thirds the size of a Global Hawk, was form in service by 2030, but might the titude, long-endurance (HALE) turbofan seen tested in 2008.