The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) announced on 2 December that it had conducted the first flight of its shipborne AR-500B vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The company’s China Helicopter Research and Development Institute (CHRDI) said in a statement that a production-ready example was successfully launched and recovered at its test facility in Poyang, northeastern Jiangxi Province, on 27 November.
AVIC officials and engineering staff seen commemorating the AR-500B VTOL UAV’s maiden flight at the CHRDI test facility in Poyang. (AVIC)
According to AVIC, the air vehicle was launched at 1500 h local time and completed several flight test evolutions including stationary hover and manual take-off and landing during its 30-minute flight.
Official specifications released by CHRDI noted that the AR-500B has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 500 kg including a 70 kg payload. Control radius and endurance were quoted as 100 km and up to four hours of operation, with the air vehicle capable of attaining stated cruise and maximum level flight speeds of 120 km/h and 140 km/h, respectively, and a service ceiling of 13,123 ft (4,000 m).
The type’s primary missions include maritime wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) and ship identification/acquisition. CHRDI explained that the AR-500B had been optimised to address the challenges of shipboard operations and featured several modifications to the baseline model.
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