Posted on 06/30/2011 9:30:56 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
PICTURE: China's Global Hawk counterpart breaks cover
By Greg Waldron
China appears ready to reveal another of its developmental military aircraft, with new images having emerged showing what appears to be a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicle.
Posted on the China Defense Mashup website, the aircraft was photographed at Chengdu airfield, where the J-20 stealth fighter also emerged late last year, shortly before making its surprise flight debut from the site in January.
China Defense Mashup speculates that the newly-spotted vehicle is the Xianglong: an intended counterpart to the USA’s Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk.
wow, you guys sure are quick to the story. Must have someone staked out at the chinese military forums 24/7
I think the wings on the tail need to be longer. LOL.
I hate to say it, but theirs looks more awesomer.
But does it work?
A new sign up are you a chicom troll?
I think the design has some interesting differences. The most obvious difference is the tail. Instead of the V of the Global Hawk, they have a single vertical and very long horizontal stabilizers. They also have the little winglets.
A couple other differences is the size of the intake for the engine and the size of the front section. Both appear smaller than the Global Hawk.
I’m not an engineer but... the tail section means increased drag & weight. The V stabilizer of the Global Hawk requires more sophisticated flight control software. so their software isn’t as sophisticated. Smaller engines, less capable flight software, less range, less performance, lower capacity to carry equipment or weapons.
I’d assume the Chinese variant has lower significantly performance than the Global Hawk.
100% correct.
A picture is worth 1000 words eh
You are a Chinese agent.
That doesn't necessarily matter. If their version is much cheaper, then they can potentially loft many more of them on a given budget.
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