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HW-350
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Long endurance multi-use small drone makes first flight in China
Xinhua | Updated: 2018-12-12 09:58
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BEIJING -- A small drone able to fly more than 24 hours on just one charge made its first flight Tuesday, according to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

The multi-use drone, the HW-350, was developed by HIWING General Aviation Equipment Co Ltd based on the demands of building an emergency communication test system and long distance aerial emergency drone system. It can be used to monitor the environment using a radar sensor.

The drone system consists of an unmanned aerial vehicle, a command and control vehicle, and a ground support compartment. The drone is able to diagnose software problems on its own.

The HW-350 is expected to work with low orbit satellites to form emergency communication systems, able to work with satellites at high, middle, and low altitude, as well as those underwater.

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Looks like a Wind or Cloud Shadow variant? ... and what do they say?

My still biggest question is: is this indeed a member of the well known Sky Wing III, which is now known as the Wind Shadow with two engines or as the Cloud Shadow with one?

Sky Wing family - Wind + Cloud Shadow - 2.jpg
 
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Looks like a Wind or Cloud Shadow variant? ... and what do they say?

My still biggest question is: is this indeed a member of the well known Sky Wing III, which is now known as the Wind Shadow with two engines or as the Cloud Shadow with one?

View attachment 526203
It is Wind Shadow, the one being tested in Xingcheng.
 
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Looks like a Wind or Cloud Shadow variant? ... and what do they say?

My still biggest question is: is this indeed a member of the well known Sky Wing III, which is now known as the Wind Shadow with two engines or as the Cloud Shadow with one?

View attachment 526203
Cloud Shadow is just for export.
 
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China's domestically-developed autonomous military helicopter passes missile test
New China TV
Published on Dec 17, 2018

China's home-made AV500W reconnaissance and combat unmanned helicopter completed the FT-8D air-to-ground missile launch test recently. It hit the target 4.5 kilometers away accurately.
 
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Popular Chinese drone CH-4 to upgrade engine
By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global Times Published: 2018/12/18 14:34:30

Use of kerosene allows it to fly higher, be plateau combat ready

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A CH-4 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized by its long battery life of 40 hours, is displayed at the 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 12, 2014. The 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, which takes place in Zhuhai from Nov. 11 to 16, features various UAV drones for both military and civilian use.(Xinhua/Liang Xu)

The Chinese CH-4, one of the best-selling armed reconnaissance drones on the international market, will be fitted with a new and stronger engine that would allow it to fly higher than the world's highest peak.

The CH-4 will soon see its old piston engine that burns gasoline replaced with a domestically made next-generation heavy-fuel engine that burns kerosene, a spokesperson of the Chinese Academy of Aerospace and Aerodynamics (CAAA) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the drone's manufacturer, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The exact date for the upgrade and the new designation for the new version will be announced at a later date, the CAAA spokesperson said.

The heavy-fuel engine will allow the drone to reach a height of 9,000 meters, according to a Monday report on the WeChat public account of Ordnance Industry Science Technology, a Xi'an-based periodical on national defense industries and technologies. That is even higher than Mount Qomolangma, known in the West as Mount Everest, which is 8,844 meters high.

With the old piston engine, the CH-4 can only reach 7,200 meters high, the report said.

Being able to fly higher means the drone is less likely to be detected and hit by a surface-to-air missile and more capable of combat in plateau regions, military experts said.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese air defense expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that by switching from gasoline to kerosene, the new engine will open the door for the CH-4 to operate on large vessels.

Gasoline is volatile and may lead to fire accidents, which is especially dangerous at sea, which explains why gasoline is not allowed on military vessels, Fu said. Heavy-fuel like aviation kerosene is much safer, he said.

The new engine can also reduce the fuel consumption by 20 percent compared to the old one, and significantly shorten the takeoff ground run distance, Ordnance Industry Science Technology reported.

Heavy-fuel is also less expensive than gasoline, Fu noted.

The CH-4's upgrade is similar to the US-made MQ-1 Predator drone. Its updated version, MQ-1C Gray Eagle, uses a heavy-fuel engine, the report said.

With CAAA's new armed reconnaissance drone on the market, the new domestic engine will help the CH-4 in terms of combat capability as the drone will also see a further price reduction following mass production, the report said.

The CH-4 has become one of the best-selling drones on the international market, the report said.

Many countries, including Algeria, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are operating the CH-4, Jane's Defence Weekly reported.

At Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province in November, the CAAA revealed the latest additions to the CH drone series: the flying-wing stealth combat drone CH-7 and the tilt-rotor drone CH-10.
 
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New system can combat rogue drones
By Zhao Lei | China Daily | Updated: 2018-12-22 06:47
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Researchers test the Low Airspace Defender.[Photo provided to China Daily]

While combat drones have become a serious threat to air-defense systems, small unmanned aircraft also pose a noticeable threat to public security authorities around the world.

Gatwick Airport in London, Britain's second-busiest airport, was shut down for 32 hours on Wednesday and Thursday due to a "deliberate act" of disruption by drones, local police said.

Having seen opportunities in the market, Chinese engineers have devised a number of solutions to unapproved or unregulated drone flights, ranging from net-carrying missiles to laser guns. However, those methods have such limitations as immovability or short range.

Now, designers from the 207th Institute of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp's Second Academy are offering new apparatus to those seeking a movable and more effective counter-drone system.

The Low Airspace Defender integrates radar, an optoelectronic search instrument and a radio detector, is capable of handling all types of low-flying drones, according to Shi Chunlei, chief designer of the system at the Beijing institute, which specializes in optoelectronic technologies.

Shi said the Low Airspace Defender is China's first fully integrated counterdrone defense system. It can detect, track, disrupt and capture unmanned aircraft operating in low airspace suspected of engagement in hostile or potentially dangerous activities. It has a designed maximum operational range of 5 kilometers, he said.

"The system can work in sophisticated environments and all weather. It uses a trio of detection and tracking methods-radar, optoelectronic scanning and radio detection-which means its detection accuracy is very high," the designer said. "By comparison, other counterdrone solutions use one or two methods, and that means they are more likely to overlook or miss targets."

Once the Low Airspace Defender system detects a rogue drone, it is able to continually track the target and then can use electronic jamming to disrupt its flight or directly hack into the drone's navigation system to guide it to land in a designated area, according to Shi.

Thanks to its small size, the system can be rapidly deployed and redeployed. A typical deployment will involve a number of such systems, depending on different situations, atop high buildings in a given region. The Low Airspace Defender system can also be mounted on an armored vehicle, providing mobility and flexibility to users, he said.

"The system is useful in airport, border control, drug and smuggling suppression, and security work in nuclear plants and large public gatherings," Shi added.

The Low Airspace Defender won a drone-detection contest organized by the Central Military Commission's Science and Technology Committee in September. Almost all of the best companies providing anti-drone solutions in the nation participated in the contest, so the Low Airspace Defender's victory testifies to the system's strong capability, the designer said.

According to the institute, the system has been exported to Indonesia and was used in security operations for the 18th Asian Games held there in September.

"The Indonesian user is very satisfied with our product," Shi said. "Currently, some other nations have expressed procurement intention and are in talks with us."
 
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