[CH-5] Chinese CH-5 Rainbow UAV vs US MQ-9 Reaper
Chinese CH-5 Rainbow UAV vs US MQ-9 Reaper
CH – CaiHong – Rainbow
The CH-5 is the latest UCAV of the Rainbow series, with a wingspan of 21 metres, a payload of 1,000 kg, a maximum takeoff weight of over 3 tonnes, a service ceiling of 9 km, an endurance of up to 60 hours and a range of 10,000 km.
Thanks to shared data link it can cooperate with CH-3 and CH-4 drones. It conducted its maiden flight in August 2015 and its first airshow flight (in northern Hebei province) in July 2017.
The drone can carry 16 missiles at a single time. There were also plans to extend its range up to 20,00 km.
Chinese officials claimed the CH-5 Rainbow was similar in performance to the US MQ-9 Reaper and “may come in at less than half the price.”
Compared to the Garrett TPE331 turboprop engine mounted on the Reaper, CH-5 is equipped with an unidentified turbo-charged piston engine, with less than half the horsepower. This choice limits the maximum altitude of the CH-5 to 9 km compared to the 12–15 km of the Reaper, but it also extends CH-5’s endurance to 60 hours compared to 14 hour of the Reaper’s.
Future blocks of CH-5 will be able to stay in the air for up to 120 hours.
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CH-5 combat drone
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s CH-5 combat drone, nicknamed the “Air Truck Bomb” because it soars into battle with 16 missiles, is the successor to the CH-4, which many call the “AK-47 of drones.”
Resembling General Atomics’ MQ-9 Reaper drone, the developers claim the weapon is superior to its combat-tested American counterpart, which carries four Hellfire missiles and two 500-pound precision bombs. The Reaper is one of America’s top hunter-killer drones and a key weapon that can stalk and strike militants in the war on terror.
The CH-5 “can perform whatever operations the MQ-9 Reaper can and is even better than the US vehicle when it comes to flight duration and operational efficiency,” Shi Wen, a chief CH series drone designer at the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics, told the China Daily two years ago.
But, while the CH-5 and the MQ-9 may look a lot alike, it is technological similarity, not parity. The Reaper’s payload, for instance, is roughly double that of China’s CH-5. And, while China’s drone may excel in endurance, its American counterpart has a greater maximum take-off weight and a much higher service ceiling.
The sensors and communications equipment on the Chinese drone are also suspected to be inferior to those on the MQ-9, which last year achieved the ability to not only wipe out ground targets but eliminate air assets as well.
Nonetheless, these systems can get the job done. The CH-4, the predecessor to the latest CH series drone, has been deployed in the fight against the Islamic State.
China has exported numerous drones to countries across the Middle East, presenting them as comparable to US products with less restrictions and for a lower price.
Top 10 Military Drones In The World 2019
10) Dassault nEUROn
9) General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle
8) Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk
7) BAE Systems Taranis
6) IAI Eitan
5) TAI ANKA
4) Elbit Hermes 900
3) General Atomics Avenger (Predator C)
2) CH-5 Rainbow
1) General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper
China unveils its answer to US Reaper drone how does it compare
MQ-9「收割者」（MQ-9 “Reaper”，又译「死神」，原代号称为「掠夺者B」（Predator B）），是一款由通用原子航空系统（英语：General Atomics Aeronautical Systems）（General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, GA-ASI）为美国空军所开发的无人机。