Current status of domestic unmanned equipment (III) - Medium-sized air-long-time drone

1. Advantages of Chinese drones

With science and technologyWith the development of drone technology, it has become more and more mature, and it has entered people's attention. In the war, the application of drones has also attracted the attention of many military experts. From the perspective of development trends, many people expect that the future trend of war is the "direction of unmanned combat". As a major science and technology country, China has unique advantages in drones. The Libyan War was the first drone war for mankind. At that time, the Winglong UAV made by China killed all over the world, attracting world attention and even more so that Middle Eastern countries rushed to buy it. China's drones have been re-examined by the world, which has further greatly improved the popularity and order volume of my country's drones. Since then, China's drones have become famous and shining in the world.

2. Counter-UAV and the technological development of the United States

Drones are very important, so naturally many countries think about how to counter UAVs. However, dealing with drones is not an easy task and requires greater thinking and investment. Take the small reconnaissance drone as an example. The weight of the entire system is only about 500 grams, which is very light. Even when flying about twenty meters above the ground, it is difficult for soldiers on the ground to observe their very detailed position through the naked eye, and they can only infer their approximate position through sound. Faced with such a situation, it is unlikely to use individual air defense missiles, rifles and other weapons to shoot them down. In addition, the opponent's drone even maneuveres, making it even more difficult to shoot it down. In response to this situation, many countries in the world have begun to develop their own anti-drone systems, and the United States has its own solutions to this. In 2021, the Defense News website announced a contract between the US Department of Defense and SRC. The total price of the contract reached US$90 million, and SRC will provide technical support to the US military for anti-small drones. In the contract, the US Air Force will purchase related parts of SRC and C-sUAS equipment. At the same time, SRC will provide maintenance, installation, corresponding technical upgrades and other analysis support for the US Air Force. This contract will be completed within 8 years.

3. Characteristics of UAV Development

The development of drones has its own characteristics, and we will discuss two of the more prominent characteristics.

First of all, drones have the characteristics of stealth. In terms of drones, the new generation of main combat aircraft in China, the United States and Russia all adopt stealth designs. In terms of stealth technology, it mainly includes two points: stealth's aerodynamic shape design, the use of wave absorbing paint, and the use of the two is combined. The purpose is to reduce the aircraft's radar scattering cross-section (RCS) value, so as to reduce the probability of being discovered by enemy radars, and have better penetration and survivability. Stealth capability is no longer the "patent" of manned aircraft, but also one of the key technologies for the future development of military drones. Just imagine, if a drone can have stealth functions and cannot be easily discovered by people, then it will naturally play a more active role in war.

Secondly, drones have the characteristics of being relatively intelligent. With the development of technology, artificial control over drones should be increasingly weakened. Because manual control of drones actually has many shortcomings, such as inaccurate judgments by operators. In the future, drones will focus on improving their autonomous operation capabilities, which can manually remotely control the drone, and can also work independently. The drone will have the ability to complete pre-set tasks in accordance with pre-programmed procedures or instructions, and at the same time respond independently to emergencies to deal with dangers. In this way, drones can be greatly avoided from being affected by subjective human factors, and for their better combat quality.

4. Development trend of heavy oil in the field of drones

The US Army's MQ-1C "Grey Eagle" drone is a more advanced and more combat-capable drone than the US-made "Preater" drone. It is also the most powerful attack drone in the hands of the U.S. Army.

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone is produced by General Atomics and looks very similar to the US Air Force's RQ-1A/B Predator drone and shares 15% of the general purpose components with the Predator. But the performance of the "Grey Eagle" is more advanced than the "Prey" and is more convenient to control than the "Prey".

The fuselage of the "Grey Eagle" drone is made of hard composite material. It has 3 internal load compartments and 4 wing plug-ins. The "Grey Eagle" drone has a wingspan of 17.08 meters, and its larger take-off weight is about 1.6 tons.

Compared with the performance parameters of Predator drone with a speed of 217 kilometers per hour and a 24-hour battery life, the Gray Eagle drone is equipped with a heavy oil engine that can fly continuously at 25,000 feet at an airlift speed of 278 kilometers per hour and a 30-hour battery life. Its reconnaissance and combat capabilities have been significantly improved.

At the same time, according to new reports, after the new generation of "Grey Eagle" drone is equipped with a heavy oil engine, its effective battery life time has increased from the original 30h to 40h, and the improvement of its core performance will also greatly improve its long-lasting combat capability and mission load capacity.