China rules global drone industry

[TaiShang]

China rules global drone industry
By Rabi Sankar Bosu
China.org.cn, January 1, 2018

Aerial drones are taking over many functions in farming, industry and environmental protection, and China leads the way. [Xinhua]

Held on November 29-30, the 2017 National Drone Show in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the American capital, informed the world the big winner in the global drone industry is China.

There's no doubt China has achieved a dominant status in manufacturing of consumer drones with a new generation of homegrown entrepreneurs creating world-class unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by developing their own technologies.

It's estimated the drone industry will be worth US$50 billion by 2023. The United States, China, Israel, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, Korea and dozens of other countries including India and Pakistan, irrespective of their economic situation, all are in a dogfight for large chunks of the global drone market.

However, China has quickly emerged as a technology superpower to rival the United States in drone manufacturing. In fact, Chinese drones now rule the skies.

China is one of the biggest manufacturers and buyers of drones globally. According to Dronelife.com, more than 500 drone manufacturers exist globally. Of those, some 400 are Chinese.

In recent years, the Chinese drone market has seen a compound annual growth rate of more than 100 percent. The market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) says more than half of commercial drones in the United States come from China. Sales of commercial-quality drones in China are expected to hit 950,000 units by 2019, a rise of about 300 percent over four years.

Founded in 2006 in an apartment in Shenzhen by Frank Wang, China drone king, DJI-Innovations now makes almost two-thirds of the world's civilian drones, according to an estimate by Frost & Sullivan. Better products at lower prices are helping DJI to take control. Phantom drones and Mavic Pro have established DJI as the undisputed leader in the consumer drone market, compared to the California-based 3D Robotics Company or U.S. venture capital firm Accel or French drone maker Parrot.

According to Forbes, DJI claims a 70 percent share of the global market, with Europe and North America its biggest customers. DJI's remarkable success has inspired others to invest in the sector.

Shenzhen Zero UAV Technology, commonly known as Xiro, Beijing-based EHANG, Guangzhou-based XAircraft and Hong Kong-based Yuneec are other important domestic players.

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is already using a large network of drones in Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces. On December 4, 2017, Liu Qiangdong, founder and CEO of JD.com, announced plans to build 185 drone airports in Sichuan in order to promote logistics services in rural areas.

China's two largest internet companies, Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, lead the world in e-commerce, mobile payments, social media, and online gaming. Xiaomi launched Mi Drone with a 4k camera in May 2016. Tencent launched a foldable 4k Ying drone in October 2016 that streams video.

Commercial drones are now being used in China from agriculture to mining to cinematography to counter rising labor costs. Drones help farmers improve the efficiency of spraying, save costs, and increase the use ratio of chemicals, which is more environmental-friendly.

DJI-Innovations presented its MG-1S drone, an octocopter, or eight-rotor drone, which is water-resistant and can spray pesticides and liquid chemical fertilizers.

Drones are also heavily used in photography, filmmaking and media sectors. The IDC estimates that camera drone shipments in the Chinese mainland will hit 3 million units by 2019, up from their prediction of 390,000 shipments in 2016.

On December 7, 2017, almost 1,200 drones had performed a spectacular light show in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, forming the Chinese ideograms for "innovation", "open" and "fortune." Earlier this year, the southern city hosted the Lantern Festival, when 1,000 drones set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of the aerial vehicles to simultaneously perform together.

Perhaps drone performances eventually will replace fireworks in the business of night sky illumination since noisy fireworks are notorious for producing air pollutants.

The use of pollution-detecting hi-tech flying machines has helped Dongguan, a city in southern China's Guangdong Province, which is a home to more than 300,000 factories, to identify and punish those causing pollution, and cut the number of smoggy days.

The news site zjol.com.cn reported on December 10, 2017 that around 600,000 drones are in operation in China in many sectors, including mineral exploration, traffic administration, disaster surveillance and agriculture.

Last September, the Chinese Academy of Aerospace and Aerodynamics developed China's largest CH-5 drone or "Caihong (Rainbow) 5" for reconnaissance, surveillance, patrols, target positioning, and strike missions.

Yet, civilian drones are not without their problems. In 2015, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) introduced provisional regulations prohibiting drone flights in restricted areas. However, recent reported multiple illegal aerial incursions into restricted airspace by drones have raised concern over public safety, re-igniting the debate about China's management and regulation.

On December 14, 2017, a draft version of the regulation on the usage and type of civilian drones was released by the CAAC to solicit public opinion.

Rabi Sankar Bosu, Secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners' Club, West Bengal, India

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2018-01/01/content_50172979.htm

 

[cirr]

China's Wing Loong UAS creates record of 'five hits in succession'

2018-01-01 09:20 Xinhua Editor: Gu Liping

Photo provided by AVIC.

China's newly-developed Wing Loong II UAS, a high-end reconnaissance-strike unmanned aerial system (UAS), has created a record "five hits in succession," its developer announced Sunday.

After multiple rounds of flight and firing tests, the Wing Loong II UAS has achieved a hit rate of 100 percent, said the state-owned aviation giant of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

"The Wing Loong II UAS has successfully hits five targets in succession with five different types of missiles in a single sortie, setting a new live firing record for Chinese UAS," AVIC said.

To date, the newly-developed reconnaissance-strike-integrated UAS has conducted firing tests with eight types of missiles and dozens of bombs, with a hit rate of 100 percent.

The Wing Loong II UAS is a China-developed new generation of long endurance reconnaissance-strike-integrated UAS by AVIC's Chengdu Aircraft Design & Research Institute (CADI).

The system is composed of the ground station and various numbers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

It successfully completed its maiden flight in northwestern China on Feb. 27 this year, showing that China was capable of developing large-scale reconnaissance-strike UAS to international standards.

Within 10 months of its maiden flight, multiple live firing tests had been conducted in accordance with the requirement of its customers, including stationary targets, moving targets, time sensitive targets and air-ground coordination.

Meanwhile, the Wing Loong II UAS has successfully conducted the "control of two vehicles with one station," which had never been achieved by a Chinese UAS before.

According to CADI, in the 10-month flight tests, the Wing Loong II UAS accomplished a series of flight missions to verify the UAS platform, payload, weapons and ground control station.

"All the performance specifications of Wing Loong II UAS are validated comprehensively through high-intensity and concentrated flight tests, which shows that it has met user requirements and possesses full operational capability," CADI said.

"Seven years after its launch on the market, the Wing Loong series has been successfully equipped by multiple users, going through tests in various severe environments," said Ji Xiaoguang, CADI president. "It has realized operation normalization, been used in actual combat, and made remarkable achievements. It has earned a good reputation in many countries and established brand recognition of Chinese 'Wing Loong' worldwide."

The Wing Loong II UAS has already obtained the largest order of Chinese advanced large-scale UAVs in the overseas market, even before its maiden flight.

To date, Wing Loong I and II UAS have realized high quality and quick delivery as per contract requirements signed with foreign customers. Both have accomplished long-distance handovers to execute missions, according to CADI.

http://www.ecns.cn/2018/01-01/286546.shtml

 

[TaiShang]

China's Wing Loong UAS creates record of 'five hits in succession'

2018-01-01 09:20 Xinhua Editor: Gu Liping

Photo provided by AVIC.

China's newly-developed Wing Loong II UAS, a high-end reconnaissance-strike unmanned aerial system (UAS), has created a record "five hits in succession," its developer announced Sunday.

After multiple rounds of flight and firing tests, the Wing Loong II UAS has achieved a hit rate of 100 percent, said the state-owned aviation giant of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

"The Wing Loong II UAS has successfully hits five targets in succession with five different types of missiles in a single sortie, setting a new live firing record for Chinese UAS," AVIC said.

To date, the newly-developed reconnaissance-strike-integrated UAS has conducted firing tests with eight types of missiles and dozens of bombs, with a hit rate of 100 percent.

The Wing Loong II UAS is a China-developed new generation of long endurance reconnaissance-strike-integrated UAS by AVIC's Chengdu Aircraft Design & Research Institute (CADI).

The system is composed of the ground station and various numbers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

It successfully completed its maiden flight in northwestern China on Feb. 27 this year, showing that China was capable of developing large-scale reconnaissance-strike UAS to international standards.

Within 10 months of its maiden flight, multiple live firing tests had been conducted in accordance with the requirement of its customers, including stationary targets, moving targets, time sensitive targets and air-ground coordination.

Meanwhile, the Wing Loong II UAS has successfully conducted the "control of two vehicles with one station," which had never been achieved by a Chinese UAS before.

According to CADI, in the 10-month flight tests, the Wing Loong II UAS accomplished a series of flight missions to verify the UAS platform, payload, weapons and ground control station.

"All the performance specifications of Wing Loong II UAS are validated comprehensively through high-intensity and concentrated flight tests, which shows that it has met user requirements and possesses full operational capability," CADI said.

"Seven years after its launch on the market, the Wing Loong series has been successfully equipped by multiple users, going through tests in various severe environments," said Ji Xiaoguang, CADI president. "It has realized operation normalization, been used in actual combat, and made remarkable achievements. It has earned a good reputation in many countries and established brand recognition of Chinese 'Wing Loong' worldwide."

The Wing Loong II UAS has already obtained the largest order of Chinese advanced large-scale UAVs in the overseas market, even before its maiden flight.

To date, Wing Loong I and II UAS have realized high quality and quick delivery as per contract requirements signed with foreign customers. Both have accomplished long-distance handovers to execute missions, according to CADI.

http://www.ecns.cn/2018/01-01/286546.shtml

Today I watched the news that argued India planned to buy hundreds of military drones.

If not paid in PPP, they may consider China

 

[faithfulguy]

Today I watched the news that argued India planned to buy hundreds of military drones.

If not paid in PPP, they may consider China

Indians believe China can only produce junk. Only white people can produce quality items. So they dismiss any Chinese products as copied or stolen junk as Chinese people has no ability to innovate.

This racism base on their caste system need to stop.

 

[Yingluck]

JD drone in delivery.

 

[cirr]

Today I watched the news that argued India planned to buy hundreds of military drones.

If not paid in PPP, they may consider China

Millions of Indians will go hungary as a result.

And then there are technologies that can't be bought no matter how much money one has

 

[Yingluck]

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China's national scientific think tank, announced on Thursday that the country's first heavy load unmanned aerial vehicle had completed its maiden flight.

CAS said the test flight lasted for 26 minutes under stable flying conditions and precise trace tracking, meaning it met all original design requirements, people.cn reports.

With a length of 11.84 metres, a wing span of 12.80 metres and a height of 4.04 metres, the drone features a 10-square-metre warehouse capacity which can bear an actual load of 1.5 tonnes.

The vehicle also features an advanced flight control and command system that can initiate both take-off and landing with the press of a button.

Even fully loaded, the AT200 can take off or land using a 200-metre runway and requires no standard airport facilities. It can operate on simply equipped airstrips or even earth slopes and grass lands, so can be utilised in high altitude and mountainous regions.

 

[AndrewJin]

 

[TaiShang]

Millions of Indians will go hungary as a result.

And then there are technologies that can't be bought no matter how much money one has

View attachment 445824

The strategy keeping advanced (dual-use) technology out from exports is a smart one - regardless of paid in USD or magic PPP

***

 

[faithfulguy]

The strategy keeping advanced (dual-use) technology out from exports is a smart one - regardless of paid in USD or magic PPP

***

India should focus on duel use technology that solve its malnutrition and sanitation. It desperately need those technologies.