China has unveiled a tail-sitter drone – which takes off and lands on its tail like a rocket – during a disaster rescue drill, according to state media.
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In its debut, the new unmanned aerial vehicle’s sensors and cameras were put to the test for reconnaissance and real-time situational awareness operations in a mountainous region of Sichuan province, the official Science and Technology Daily reported on Tuesday.
The drone’s Wenyao intelligent control system was also on show, with the drill demonstrating capabilities such as autonomous target allocation, automatic route planning, and automated threat avoidance – all of which could be vital when controlling a drone swarm.
The drone – whose name was not disclosed – is what is known as a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. It launches vertically with its nose pointing up, transitions to a horizontal flight position, then switches back to vertical to land on its tail.
With a wingspan of 2.6 metres (8.5 feet) and a length of 1.8 metres (5.9 feet), the UAV looks similar to the United States military’s MQ-35 V-BAT drone, which has a single-engine ducted fan design.
The design enables it to fly much faster than a quadcopter – a drone with four rotors – and nearly as fast as a fixed-wing drone. Its ability to take off and land vertically gives it flexibility in deployment and makes it easier to retrieve from remote or rugged areas since it does not need a runway, launcher or an arresting system for take-off and landing.
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Its developer, state-owned Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG), a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), also makes stealth fighters and military drones such as the Wing Loong II.