Analysis: Chinese drones UAVs at military parade Beijing China October 2019

Aviation defence industry technology

During the military parade in Beijing, China, which was held during the celebrations marking 70 years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) of China were showcased among other miliary equipment in a parade. Here is the complete list and analysis of Air Recognition editorial team of these UAVs and drones shown during the military parade in order of appearance, on October 1, 2019.

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WZ-8 "Dark Sword" high-altitude reconnaissance drone (Picture source: Air Recognition)

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The weaponry includes reconnaissance drones in multi-range and multi-altitude areas.

Among them, a high-altitude high-speed reconnaissance drone, the only all black-coating UAV in the parade, made public appearance for the first time.

The phalanx showcases the new-type combat force in the future warfare and all these aerial armaments reviewed are domestically-developed, said Dang Dongxing, a military official of one of the phalanxes, noting that China's unmanned combat armaments are close to or have reached the world-leading level in some aspects.

The hypersonic  WZ-8 "Dark Sword" UAV was unveiled. It could likely be able to fly at a high-supersonic speed and have stealth capabilities, military analysts said. They added that the new drone has small wings and is shaped like a dagger. It is meant to be launched in the air via a bomber or transport aircraft.

The drone could provide more reliable reconnaissance data than satellites. The biggest advantage of the drone is that it can effectively gather intelligence in real-time in a controllable way compared to other platforms like satellites, Wu Jian, editor of Defense Weekly under Shanghai-based Xinmin Evening News, was quoted as saying by Global Times.

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 JY-203 (Picture source: Air Recognition)

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The JY-203 UAV system is a reconnaissance system based upon Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor (Ku band), which is installed on UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), and also on broad range of other aircraft - turbo-prop, jet, or helicopter. JY-203 system can keep constant imaging resolution within the entire effective detection area, and has certain penetration characteristics, under the influence of light, dust, smoke, fog, cloud and temperature. It is featured with a large detection area and long detection range.

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Aisheng BZK-008 (Picture source: news.cn )

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The Aisheng BZK-008 UAV (also called CH-91) is designed to carry out tasks related to reconnaissance of the terrain and airspace, the implementation of observation and patrol missions, aerial photography and aerial photography of the terrain, and monitoring and control.

The CH-91 is a fixed-wing UAV in twin-boom layout with an inverted v-tail and a pair of skids as landing gear. Propulsion is provided by a two-blade propeller driven by a pusher engine mounted at the rear end of the fuselage.

The CH-91 has a maximum takeoff weight of 210. It can fly at a maximum speed of 320 km/h and has a cruising speed of 210 km/h at a maximum distance of 410 km/h with a maximum altitude of 5,100 m.

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Sky Saker FX500 (Picture source: Air Recognition)

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The Sky Saker FX500 reconnaissance UAV system, by Norinco, adopts high-speed UAV platform of low RCS (Radar Cross-Section) propelled by turbojet engine. It is equipped with GPS and INS combined navigation system, laser illuminator and can be loaded with such airborne mission equipment as multi-purpose opto¬electronic reconnaissance equipment, synthetic aperture radar and digital camera, etc. as required. It has a payload capacity of 50 kg and an endurance of 2 hours. The Sky Saker FX500 can fly at a maximum speed of 800 km/h. With high altitude penetration, it can perform penetration at an altitude of up to 9,000 m.

The Sky Saker FX500 can be equipped with various mission payloads, such as GPS+INS combined navigation system, TV reconnaissance equipment, forward-looking IR reconnaissance equipment, laser illuminator, synthetic aperture radar, digital camera and information transmission equipment, etc.

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 Wing Loong II (Picture source: news.cn)

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The Wing Loong II UAV MALE is developed primarily for the export market and is intended for surveillance and aerial reconnaissance missions. The Wing Loong II is an improved version of the Wing Loong 1 UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) in the category of MALE (medium-altitude Long-Endurance) designed and manufactured in China by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Compared with Wing Loong I, the Wing Loong II has an optimized aerodynamic design, an improved airframe and upgraded airborne systems, featuring better capabilities in terms of flight, payload and information capacity.

The Wing Loong II UAV MALE is powered by a turbocharged engine, driving a three-bladed propeller, mounted at the rear section. It can fly during 20 hours and has a maximum speed of 370 km per hour. The Wing Loong II has an operational radius of 1,500 km and that it is equipped with a satellite communications system.

It has a maximum payload capacity of 400 kg. It is able of carrying up to 12 laser-guided bombs or missiles with a total weight of 480 kilograms. The Wing Loong 1 can carry only two bombs or missiles with a combined weight of 100 kg. At Zhuhai Air Show 2016, the Wing Loong II was shown with different types of bombs and missiles as the FT-9/50 50kg bomb, GB3 250 kg laser-guided bomb, TL-10 bomb and more. The electro-optical payload pod, fitted under the forward section of the fuselage, is integrated with day/night and infrared cameras and sensors to collect surveillance and targeting data in both day and low-light / night conditions.

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GongJi GJ-11 "Sharp Sword" stealth attack drone (Picture source: Air Recognition)

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Another new drone on display in Beijing was the GJ-11 "Sharp Sword" long-range stealth attack drone, which is based on the American-made B-2 strategic bomber, and is designed to strike targets deep in enemy territory without being detected.

The design of the Chinese-made GJ-11 "Sharp Sword" seems very similar to the American-made X-47B from Northrop Grumann and the Russian-made Okhotnik (Hunter) which has performed its first successful maiden flight on July 2019.

The GJ-11 is part of a unmanned aerial vehicle program launched in China by Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute (SYADI) of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and Shenyang Aerospace University. The Sharp Sword is jet-powered and has a wingspan of 14 meters. It's not yet known the precise mission Sharp Sword is assigned, but possible missions would including reconnaissance and eventually combat missions. On Nov 21 2013, Sharp Sword conducted a 20-minute long maiden flight from HAIG's airfield.

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ASN-301 (Picture source: Air Recognition)

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The ASN-301 is a delta-wing aircraft with a pusher propeller that looks virtually identical to the Harpy. It is designed to fly into hostile airspace and loiter until it detects a radar, at which point it homes in on the target and destroys it. The ASN-301 has a flying time of 4 hours and a range of 280 km. Rather than holding a separate high-explosive warhead, the drone itself is the main ammunition. The warhead contains a total of 7,000 fragment and has a destructive range of 20 m.

It can either operate fully autonomously, or it can be controlled by a remote operator. It is designed to attack radar systems and is optimized for the SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) role.