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| The original Wing Loong I UACV |
by David Donald
First revealed by way of an information sheet at the Beijing Aero Show in September last year, the Chengdu Wing Loong II turboprop-powered UAV is being exhibited in model form for the first time outside China by Chinese aerospace group Catic (Stand S09). The model shows an air vehicle with a slender fuselage, not unlike that of the General Atomics Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper. Like the Reaper, it has large butterfly fins with a smaller ventral fin, but whereas the U.S. machine has wings with constant taper, Wing Loong II has a straight center section, outboard of which are tapering sections leading to tips with winglets.
Tantalizing glimpses of what are likely to be Wing Loong II appeared on Chinese websites earlier last year, several months before the official revelation, including one image depicting just the butterfly tail and rear fuselage of a primer-painted test aircraft. A prototype is likely to have flown. Within hours of a report about the UAV appearing in AIN a model of the aircraft was quietly removed from the Catic display.
Wing Loong II’s powerplant is unknown, but could be a variant of the 600-hp WJ-9 developed initially to power the Harbin Y-12 light transport aircraft. The vehicle can carry up to 12 guided missiles in pairs on its six underwing pylons, targeted by an under-nose sensor turret. Illustrations show the Norinco BA-9 weapon.
Read the full story at AINonline