China used Wing Loong-1E and AR500 unmanned aerial vehicles in exercises: What surprised them (photo)

China deployed Wing Loong-1E drone and AR500 unmanned helicopter in the largest air rescue exercise in history, held in Kinmen city on October 27. This was reported by The EurAsian Times on Tuesday, October 31.

Organized by the State Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the exercise included a variety of training scenarios, from reconnaissance and tracking to firefighting and rescue operations. Particular attention was paid to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in emergency situations.

Wing Loong-1E drone played an important role during the training. Quickly reacting to the appearance of heavy smoke from a simulated fire, it took off from Zhanghe airport. The drone is equipped with modern optical-electronic reconnaissance equipment, radar and communications support capsules. This allowed the UAV to provide real-time transmission of high-quality images. In addition, it served as an airborne base station to repair and maintain public mobile network signals damaged due to fire, and to ensure uninterrupted communication and coordination of actions during the elimination of the consequences of the accident.

Wing Loong-1E drone has impressive features. It can carry different payloads depending on the specific mission and achieve multiple usage goals of a single drone. The drone will be capable of continuous reconnaissance and surveillance on land and at sea, participating in combat air patrols and close air support, providing medium-range guidance and target guidance for guided weapons, supporting precision fire attacks and clearing of fixed points, damage assessment and mission expansion, among other tasks. provides good opportunities.

Wing Loong-1E chief designer Tang said, “In flight control, Wing Loong 1E can collect the same signal from three sensors at the same time and calculate the same command simultaneously by three computers, providing accurate decisions and control instructions.” said. Global Times.Yong.

Wing-Loong 1E, which has a maximum flight endurance of 45 hours and a maximum flight range of 7,000 km, can fly at an altitude of 10,000 meters and provides high takeoff and landing performance by carrying two 50 kg weapons. Wing-Loong 1E can take off and land normally with the maximum weight of the external configuration even at a high-altitude airport 4000 meters above sea level. Takeoff and landing at maximum weight at a low-altitude airport requires only a few hundred metres.

Wing-Loong 1E is also equipped with high-performance photoelectric sensors and a multifunction radar. According to Tang, in addition to traditional photoelectric and radar detection, it can also perform digital photography, geolocation and meteorological detection.

In addition to the Wing Loong-1E drone, the AR500 unmanned helicopter also participated in the exercise. The aircraft flew smoothly over the fire area. When the photovoltaic module was zoomed in and out, the fire area, open flame points, fire lines and other information were clearly visible to rescuers. These images were transmitted to them in real time.

Commenting on the role of the unmanned helicopter, fire department communications department chief Sun Ke said, “The fire information obtained by the AR-500 forms the basis for decision-making for subsequent fire control operations, which is of great importance.” .

It is worth noting that in December 2021, the Helicopter Institute transferred 4 unmanned AR-500 helicopters to the Ministry of Emergencies, marking the official inclusion of unmanned helicopters in the aviation industry into the national emergency rescue equipment system.

Recall that in September 2023, China demonstrated its first attack aircraft KVD002. The drone is the first model of a universal UAV that can serve both reconnaissance and target designation, as well as attacking the enemy and its targets using ammunition.

And in August of the same year, China showed the Russian Federation an almost exact copy of the Iranian Shahed-136. Chinese company Cobtec presented the significantly “improved” Sunflower-200 first in Belarus and two months later in Russia.