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Significance of CHINESE Wing Loong II Armed And Reconnaissance Drone For PAKISTAN ARMY:
PAKISTAN has recently bought 50 numbers of heavyweight medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) Wing Loong II Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from its Iron Brother CHINA.
The Wing Loong II Reconnaissance and Combat Drone is developed by the CHINESE State-owned Chengdu Aircraft Design & Research Institute (CADI), a subsidiary of the CHINESE Aviation industry Corporation of CHINA (AVIC).
The Wing Loong II Combat and Reconnaissance drone is primarily developed for the PEOPLE’s LIBERATION ARMY AIR FORCE (PLAAF) for aerial reconnaissance, surveillance and combat missions.
The CHINESE Wing Loong II Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is a multi-purpose and multi-mission capable drone that has the ability to undertake several purposes in an efficient manner, such as Combat operations, meteorological operations, disaster assessment and environmental protection.
First Showcase of Wing Long II Armed and Reconnaissance Drone:
The first test flight for the Wing Loong II Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) conducted back in 2009. The prototype of the Wing Loong I was exhibited during the CHINA International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition held in Zhuhai in 2010.
Features and Designs of Wing Loong II Combat and Reconnaissance Drone:
The Wing Loong II armed and reconnaissance drone has a total length of 11 meters, total height of 4.1 meters, wingspan of 20.5 meters and maximum take-off weight up to 4,200 kilograms in total.
The Wing Loong drone is a fixed mid-mounted drone that results in significantly improved in performance by reducing the drag coefficient. The fuselage of the UAV is designed to minimize the radar cross section. The Wing Loong II Combat Drone features the 2 V-shape vertical tail fins arranged.
For armament purpose, the CHINESE Wing Loong II Drone features six hardpoints in total that can carry a variety of rockets, missiles and bombs.
The wing Loong II Reconnaissance and Armed Drone feature the tri-cycle landing gear that features one single wheels under the nose and two main wheel under the fuselage, this design facilitates in safe and easy landing and take-off the UAV.
The Wing Loong II Combat and Reconnaissance drone features the satellite communication antenna that is mounted on the top front surface of the fuselage that facilitates secure data transmission between the Drone and Ground Control Station.
Armament and Munition Options for Wing Loong II Armed and Reconnaissance Drone:
The CHINESE Wing Loong II Armed drone can carry a variety of lethal munitions, armament and missiles, including the laser-guided bombs, rockets and air-to-surface missiles to destroy and paralyze ground-based targets.
The munition and armament options of the Wing Loong II Armed Drone are BRMI-90 90mm guided rocket, T-10/25 25kg bomb, GB-7/50 50kg precision-guided munition (PGM), AKD-10 air-to-surface anti-tank missile, FT-9/50 50kg bomb for drones, FT-7/130 small 130kg bomb with planar wing and GB-4/100 PGM.
Electro-Optical Payload Options:
The Wing Loong II Combat and Reconnaissance Drone is equipped with the electro-optical payload pod that is fitted under the forward section of the fuselage. The electro-optical payload is also integrates with the different sensors and day infrared cameras that helps to UAV to conduct reconnaissance and combat missions in both day and night/low-light conditions.
The Wing Loong II UAV is also equipped with the Forward-looking Infrared (FLIR) camera, laser designator, synthetic aperture radar and several electronic countermeasures.
Propulsion:
The Wing Loong II Armed and Reconnaissance UAV is powered by the 100 Horsepower turbocharged engine that helps to drive three-bladed propeller that is mounted at the rear station of the drone.
Mobile Ground Control (MGC) Station:
All the performance and the payload of the Wing Loong II Drone is controlled remotely by the operator of the remote Mobile Ground Control Station (GCS) by using the consoles.
The control system of the UAV receives information via a Satellite Data Communication link and it sends back the mission planning data, as well command and control data to the air vehicle.
Performance of Wing Loong II Surveillance and Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV):
The Wing Loong II Surveillance and Combat UAV has a maximum flight speed of 370km/hr and it has a service ceiling of 32,500 ft and has an endurance of 32 hours.
The Wing Loong II Combat Drone can easily perform missions for up to 32 hours consecutively and can easily transmit data over a Line of Sight (LOS) with a maximum range of 200 Kilometers in total. The take-off distance of the Wing Loong II Armed Drone is 600 meters, while the landing roll distance is up to 800 meters, respectively.
