China unveils the heaviest drone ‘Caihong 5’: Tries to match the capabilities of US super drone ‘Reaper’

China has demonstrated its edge in drone or unmanned aerial vehicle technology, by unveiling its heaviest-yet drone by conducting its maiden flight recently. Capable of carrying a payload of 3 tons with an all powerful wall-penetrating radar, the new Chinese drone is trying to match the famed U.S. drone, Reaper, in all respects.

The drone also represents China’s entry into the elite club of drone makers, so far controlled by the United States. Named as Caihong 5 or CH-5, the drone's successful trial was held at an undisclosed location in Gansu Province and it flew for 20 minutes. It is endowed with many formidable features, including high endurance to fly for over 30 hours. The drone also boasts of a wingspan that is 20 meters and surpasses all previous models of China’s Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation by virtue of doubled carrying capacity, reports Russia Today.

Formidable features

Explaining Caihong 5’s hi-tech features, chief designer of the drone Ou Zhongming referred to its wall-penetrating radar capability in tracking targets inside the buildings. So far, Chinese drones could open fire on targets only with a ‘go’ from an on-ground observer. But the new radar system can do it without any ground-assistance.

Though China is one of the world's biggest drone producers, its focus has been on the civilian side of the market unlike the U.S. and Israel who are more into military applications of robotic aircraft, particularly the weaponised versions.

“Terrorists have their hideouts. They can hide in a bush or in a house. That requires us to go through walls and identify the objects inside,” Ou said in a CCTV report. Lan Wenbo, yet another designer, highlighted the electronic warfare capability of the new drone and said it has the ability to protect itself from detection and hacking by enemy drones.

Game changer

The South China Morning Post, in a report, quoted the Chinese state television, which called the CH-5 drone as a “game changer in airstrikes.”

“The aircraft is designed to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting, intelligence gathering, electronic warfare, border patrol, island defense and anti-terrorism missions,” China Military Online noted. In a report, The Diplomat noted that CH-5, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has aped the United States’ MQ-9 Reaper drone in terms of design.

The report noted that most of China’s UAV programs have harped on reverse-engineering models with CASC taking advantage of existing R&D in the U.S. and other places. It also said the Chinese combat UAVs has to do a lot of catching up in reaching the precision levels of Western counterparts in detection-capabilities and endurance. The market size of China’s civilian drone market is around US$8.2 billion (AU$11.8 billion) with more than 400 companies active in the sector.

For feedback/comments, contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or let us know what you think below.