NCHU UAV
NCHU UAVs are Chinese UAVs developed by Nanchang Hangkong University (NCHU), some of which have entered service with various Chinese governmental establishments.
| NCHU UAVs | |
|---|---|
| Role | UAV |
| National origin | China |
| Manufacturer | Nanchang Hangkong University |
| Designer | Mr. Peng Hailong |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | China |
Common Ringed Plover
The Common Ringed Plover (Jian-Heng or Jianheng, 剑鸻) is a fixed wing UAV developed by NCHU, which can take-off either on water or on land. The Common Ringed Plover made its public debut in September 2013 at the 2nd AVIC Cup international UAV innovation competition, and placed 17th out of a total of 76 designs.[1]
Drone
NCHU is currently developing a drone that is capable of both high speed and low speed cruise. The drone is capable of carrying a Luneburg lens to adjust radar cross section to different levels. In addition, it is also capable of carrying an infrared intensifier to increase its infrared signature as a target. This drone is mainly intended to support surface-to-air or air-to-air weaponry development.[2]
Flourish UAV
Flourish General Aviation UAV (Chang-Sheng Tong-yong Wu-Ren-ji or Changsheng Tongyong Wurenji, 昌盛通用无人机) is an experimental UAV developed by NCHU to gain knowledge in carrier landing. The existence of Flourish UAV is revealed to the public in 2011 when it won a first place in an UAV competition held in Beijing that year.[3] Flourish UAV has conventional layout and is powered electrically, and it adopts a combination of remote control and autonomous control to ensure successful carrier landing.[4]
HT-180
The HT-180 is a turbojet powered subsonic drone currently under development by NCHU. The HT-180 has a cylindrical fuselage with a pointed nose cone and swept wings. Side intake are mounted between the swept wing and tailplanes.
Specifications:[5]
- Length: 2.93 m
- Wingspan: 1.3 m
- Diameter: 0.24 m
- Payload: 3–7 kg
- Maximum take-off weight: 65 kg
- Ceiling: 5.5 km
- Maximum speed: 760 km/hr
- Minimum speed: 340 km/hr
- Wing type: NACA63-A-210
- Endurance: > 0.5 hours
Long endurance fixed-wing UAV
Long endurance fixed-wing UAV (Chang-Hang-Shi Gu-Ding-Yi Wu-Ren-Ji, 长航时固定翼无人机) is a very little known UAV currently under development by NCHU. It is intended for various missions such as aerial photography, cinematography, surveying, and even air drop of emergency medication during disaster relief. Standard equipment include visible light camera and imaging infrared camera.[6]
Owlet Hawk
Owlet Hawk (Xiao-Ying or Xiaoying, 枭鹰) is an experimental UAV developed by two students from NCHU, Mr. Dai Wei (戴维) and Mr. Zhao Xue (赵学). Owlet Hawk is intended to explore technologies of utilizing plasma for UAVs by using laser plasma to produce lift and thrust for UAVs. Another important benefit of utilizing plasma is that plasma helps to improve stealth. Owlet Hawk made it first public debut in October 2012 in Beijing at the 5th Innovation Cup of future aircraft design competition.[7]
Swan Goose 3
Swan Goose 3 (Hong-Yan # 3 or Hongyan # 3, 鸿雁 # 3) is a very little known Chinese unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) developed by NCHU. The UCAV sometime are erroneously referred as Swan Swallow (鸿燕) instead, because in Chinese, swallow and goose are both pronounced the same, as Yan, however, the correct name is Swan Goose, not Swan Swallow. Swan Goose is intended for ground attack missions and the existence of Swan Goose is revealed in the description of UAV research institute of NCHU. The general designer of Swan Goose 3 is Dr. Yan Zhao-Wu (闫兆武).[8]
Tilt Ducted Fan UAV
Tilt Ducted Fan UAV is an experimental UAV developed by NCHU to explore new ways of achieving VTOL. Tilt Ducted Fan UAV adopts an airframe similar to that of Lockheed Martin RQ-3 DarkStar but with V-tail added. There are a total of four engines, all of which are ducted fans. The two of the three smaller ones are mounted near the wingtips respectively, and the third one is mounted in thenose. These three smaller engines are fixed and provide lift during takeoff and landing. The fourth engine is a large one mounted in the fuselage near the V-tail, and this engine can tilt as needed. During the takeoff, the large engine is positioned just like the remaining three smaller ones providing major lift, and once airborne, the larger engine would tilt 90 degree to provide thrust in level flight. The process is reversed during landing operations. The complete name NCHU gives to this Tilt Ducked Fan UAV is New Type Multifunctional Tilt Ducked Fan UAV (Xin-Xing Duo-Gong-Neng Qing-Xie-Zhuan Han-Dao Wu-Ren-Ji, 新型多功能倾转涵道无人机)[9]
Zhonghua UAV
Zhonghua (中华) UAV is an experimental UAV jointly developed by NCHU and Brilliance Auto. Zhonghua UAV is designed to explore the feasibility of equipping UAV with auto engine, and is thus powered by the 1.8T auto engine developed by Brilliance Auto.[10] Specification:[11]
- Wingspan: 10.2 m
- Length: 7 m
- Height: 3.1
- Empty weight: 520 kg
- Fuel capacity: 40 L
- Cruise speed: 110 km/hr
- Ceiling: 2 km