Saudi Arabia orders 300 Chinese strike-capable reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles

[HannibalBarca]

#Taqnia- signed an agreement with #ALIT-to manufacture all types of 'CH' UAVs in Kingdom & to promote them regionally #IDEX2017

CH-5

Compared with the United States' General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, a hunter-killer drone often deemed by Western analysts as the best of its kind, the CH-5 "can perform whatever operations the MQ-9 Reaper can, and is even better than the US vehicle when it comes to flight duration and operational efficiency," Shi said

Moreover, the CH-5 is able to carry an airborne early warning system to act as a platform for regional surveillance, and battlefield command and control. It also can carry electronic warfare instruments to collect electronic intelligence and to jam enemy communications or radars

Another advantage is that the CH-5 is capable of making a joint strike together with its predecessors, the CH-3 and CH-4, because they can share the same data link and control system. Therefore, it is very easy for current users of the CH-3 and CH-4 to introduce and integrate the CH-5 into their drone network

The CH-5 is able to carry 1,000 kg of equipment and weapons. It will carry 16 air-to-surface missiles when displayed at the air show, but its largest capacity is 24 missiles in a single flight, engineers at the academy said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-11/01/content_27233618.htm

CH-805 with an RCS of 0.01 m2

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense for KSA to have gained ToT with the Wing Loong II as well.

For CH I understand the move, since this company is more advanced in the UAV industry than the Wing long company. Therefore, KSA will get every new CH future product first and with some sort of ToT... ( with the rightful price...)

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

you don't need 300pcs... even with shifts and such to monitor your border with Yemen , few will be ok... . With that quantity you can monitor ALL of KSA border and you get enough to monitor every country around KSA and you get a lot of spare to even use for strikes....

For Info
US got 126 MQ-9 Reaper...

Unit costs for these drones is much lower though, only about $1 million per drone. (Compared to the Reaper which costs $15 million per drone). When Saudi starts manufacturing the CH series drones domestically they will be able to pump them out in huge numbers as well.

And it's extremely expensive for an adversary to shoot them down, just as an example the cost of a single Patriot interceptor missile is around $3.4 million. And you never lose pilots on the battlefield, which is more important due to the time and cost it requires to train them.

With this tactic it is much easier to rain down massive firepower without having to worry about losing too much in return.

Drone swarms are the future. It's just a much more cost effective way to deliver a payload, Wing Loong 2 can carry around 12 laser guided bombs and missiles.

 

[HannibalBarca]

Unit costs for these drones is much lower though, only about $1 million per drone. (Compared to the Reaper which costs $15 million per drone). When Saudi starts manufacturing the CH series drones domestically they will be able to pump them out in huge numbers as well.

And it's extremely expensive for an adversary to shoot them down, just as an example the cost of a single Patriot interceptor missile is around $3.4 million. And you never lose pilots on the battlefield, which is more important due to the time and cost it requires to train them.

With this tactic it is much easier to rain down massive firepower without having to worry about losing too much in return.

Yes when you have a Full scale war or already in one...
But 300pcs for Yemen , since it's the Only battlefield where KSA is involved today.
And ofc it's cheap and do the job well, a good sys. But first we have to get some sort of confirmation about those 300pcs from at least from one side or another.

If this number is correct , 300pcs for KSA is WAY too much. So maybe few others were in the party... to get them later.
We will see

ps: even the US has twice less than that... ( the wing long nearest equivalent, MQ-9 with 120+ pcs)

 

[Hassan Guy]

And just like that saudi arabia catches up to the Iranian and Israeli drone industry.

 

[The SC]

The news of the 300 drones as the biggest drone sale of China came at the latest Chines Zuhai show, but most people didn't believe it.. now the deal has been confirmed, is it the Wingloong or the CH-X series to be produced in KSA in a JV with China or both? that has to be confirmed..

Too much !

Not really for networked drones operations.. there were news lately that some unknown customer has tested Chinese CH-4 drones operating in networks, and due to this number, it can not be other than KSA..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CH-5

SOAR EAGLE

CH-805

These are the top line CH series that can be produced..

 

[HannibalBarca]

The news of the 300 drones as the biggest drone sale of China came at the latest Chines Zuhai show, but most people didn't believe it.. now the deal has been confirmed, is it the Wingloong or the CH-X series to be produced in KSA in a JV with China or both? that has to be confirmed..


Not really for networked drones operations.. there were news lately that some unknown customer has tested Chinese CH-4 drones operating in networks, and due to this number, it can not be other than KSA..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CH-5

SOAR EAGLE

CH-805

These are the top line CH series that can be produced..

The huge sale is believed by every one since the announcement, but it's the 300 pcs that need confirmation.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

HUUUUGE!!!!!!! What a shift in geopolitics!!!! Looks like another Bhutto-Kissinger-China scene!!! Is this a signature that the Pak-China relationship is going to the next level????

 

[IblinI]

The huge sale is believed by every one since the announcement, but it's the 300 pcs that need confirmation.

True, there is no mentioning in the original source says anything about the number of purchased.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

WIth the presence of some pakistani tac teams in saudi arabia for training their boys things are way better now as saudi forces are learning and adapting to different situations in the 4th generation war.

I am pretty sure Pak folks are all around this deal - recruitment, planning, ops etc...

 

[Naeem A.]

Wow,300 times two operators(pilots) is 600 new ''pilots''?

Three 8 hour long shifts mate... 300 x 3 = 900 new pilots...

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Smart purchase


.... Over kill really vs folks on horses

 

[Super Falcon]

China slowly eating up US Market in middle East with PLZ 45 already in service with LISA and Kuwait

Hollogram for the king movie must be seen

 

[RIP Pak LAW]

New toys for Raheel Shareef to play with.

 

[somebozo]

even bigger question..what are they going to do with 300 UAV?? are they planning to monitor entire KSA with UAV?

 

[Fledgingwings]

Right you are HAKIKAT.Saudi Pak relations have been always emotional and very rock solid in terms of saudi strategic affairs and securrity.

This time Saudis look like they mean business