State-owned defense giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced on January 21 that it plans to build a larger prototype of the Rainbow 10 (CH-10) fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle. drone) at its new automated manufacturing plant in eastern Zhejiang province.
The company also noted that the first flight of the CH-10 technology demonstrator took place in 2019, and reliability testing has been ongoing since then. There are also plans to further validate the basic design, and the knowledge gained will be used to develop larger, more robust models, said Wen Xi, head of the CH-10 project team.
According to official specifications, the CH-10 has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of about 350kg in its current state of development, powered by a main engine mounted in the fuselage that powers the twin-bladed propellers on the wings— —A nacelle installed that enables it to achieve a maximum horizontal flight speed of over 300 km/h and to operate at altitudes of up to 7,000 meters. The aircraft is also capable of transitioning to helicopter mode mid-flight and performing sustained hovers in wind gusts exceeding 10 m/s.
It is understood that CASC is pushing the CH-10 for potential shipborne applications given the limited deck space that prevents the use of larger fixed-wing UAVs.
If successfully commercialized, CH-10 will expand the product portfolio of the Rainbow UAV Base in the circular economy industrial cluster in Taizhou Bay. The facility became operational in December 2019 and has since built an unspecified number of CH-4 and CH-5 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones for domestic and international customers.
The Caihong UAV Base is the latest of several unmanned aircraft production lines the company has put into service over the past 10 years, aimed at producing portable micro-drones for long-range MALE-class armed reconnaissance platforms that support satellite communications.
Local reports suggest the facility could eventually produce as many as 200 “medium and large” drones a year.
by Jr Ng
