Fighter Sweep
  • Home
  • Military Aviation
  • Air Force
  • Navy
  • Spec Ops
  • Expert Analysis
  • Careers
  • Photos
Home Previous Post Next Post
Follow @fightersweep

China’s First Flight of their Wing-Loong II Drone!

March 2, 2017 wingloong-ii-strike-drone-china
FighterSweep Staff 1 Comment China, Drones, Military Aviation, News, Video

China is advancing their drone capability with the first flight of their Wing-Loong II reconnaissance and strike drone on February 27. The state-run Xinhua News Agency also announced that they have received a large order from an unnamed customer for the aircraft system.

First revealed in September 2015 and exhibited as a model at the Singapore Air Show last year, the Wing-Loong II is a new generation, turboprop-powered UAS designed by AVIC’s Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute. The number-one aircraft performed a 31-minute flight from “a highland airfield in western China,” Xinhua said.

“Its flight marks China’s new generation reconnaissance and strike UAS,” chief designer Li Yidong told Xinhua. “Following the United States, China becomes another country capable of developing such new generation large reconnaissance and strike UAS.” The Wing-Loong II “can rapidly identify then strike against time-critical and fleeting targets. The capability is not possessed by previous unmanned aircraft, even manned aircraft,” he added. – AINonline

Watch the first Wing-Loong Drone Fly

The Wing-Loong II does have an almost uncanny resemblance to the larger and more capable U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper.

The Chinese made Wing-Loong II drone has the follow specifications:

  • Wingspan of 67 feet (20.5 meters)
  • Maximum takeoff weight of 9,260 pounds (4,200 kg)
  • External payload capacity of 1,058 pounds (480 kg)
  • Maximum altitude of 29,527 feet
  • Endurance 20 hours

Possible customers for the Wing-Loong II are rumored to include Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. So how do you think the Chinese drones compare to U.S. drones?

Featured image of a Wing-Loong II unmanned aircraft system from Xinhua News Agency Tweet

wingloong-ii-strike-drone-china

Related Posts

  • The Pic of the Day: F-35 aboard the amphibious assault ship USS WaspThe Pic of the Day: F-35 aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp
  • Watch: Get High With the F-16 Viper Demonstration TeamWatch: Get High With the F-16 Viper Demonstration Team
  • Watch: U.S. Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk Helicopter Crashes in Iraq – Seven DieWatch: U.S. Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk Helicopter Crashes in Iraq – Seven Die
  • Ghost ship in the sky: The mysterious disappearance of the crew of the L-8Ghost ship in the sky: The mysterious disappearance of the crew of the L-8
  • B-52s Train For Possible Strikes in North AfricaB-52s Train For Possible Strikes in North Africa

Find Us on Facebook

FighterSweep.com

Sign Up
for the Newsletter

What’s Hot

  • March 23, 2019

    Rest Easy: Ranger assigned to secretive reconnaissance unit dies in free-fall accident

  • blue-angels-reporter-blacks-out-passes-out
    December 5, 2017

    Watch: News Reporter Blacks Out on Ride with US Navy Blue Angels

  • Whistling Death: How The Corsair Got Its Nickname
    August 30, 2019

    Whistling Death: How the Corsair got its nickname

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Twitter

Recent Comments

  • pak152 " the team came up with what the Brits dubbed as Mustang, powered by a [...]
  • P K Polish AF never has and never will operate Su-27, An-26 aircraft has been out [...]
  • bnarfhyde The best book is also great. have a [...]
  • TerrorTrike ive never survived this long with such a clumsy FL- cG.866B.CO/NC6155hc
  • D4rksupeme yessss truck kunnnnnnnn i needddd you m.866E.CO/vC6155H

© Copyright 2023 SOFREP Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...