Poly Defence XC-150 combat-capable VTOL UAV. (Janes/Akshara Parakala)
China's Poly Defence exhibited its indigenously developed fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) multirole autonomous XC-150 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi.
The XC-150 is a tactical UAV designed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions. The UAV can take off and land with the help of three fixed landing legs at a maximum altitude of 4,000 m, in what a company official described as “strong breeze conditions”, and it can cruise in level flight in “gale conditions”. The UAV requires a take-off and landing clearance of 8×10 m, and can be deployed in 30 minutes.
Speaking to Janes , a Poly Defence official said, “The development of the UAV started a few years ago primarily to support ISR missions, and the armed capability is yet to be worked on.”
The design of the XC-150 includes high-mounted tapered straight wings spanning a length of 6.9 m, a twin-boom-mounted tail, which has an inward-canted vertical stabiliser joined by a horizontal stabiliser at the top, and a nose-mounted electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) turret. An additional payload and a battery can be integrated ahead of the wings.
As exhibited, the UAV has twin booms in the mid-wing section ending in the tail, each fitted with four electrically powered rotors (two upward and two downward), which enable VTOL operations. Forward flight is via a pusher propeller driven by a gasoline engine. The aircraft has an endurance of 12 hours when carrying a payload of 20 kg.
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