The AVIC's new SS-UAV is being developed to handle various missions profiles, including maritime attack, surveillance, airdropping of swarm UAVs, and long-range logistics. (Getty/AVIC/Janes)
The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has unveiled a new 16 tonne unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of accommodating modular payloads and said that the platform is being developed to undertake multiple missions, including maritime strike, long-range cargo transport, and surveillance.
Designated as the Smart-configuration Support UAV (SS-UAV), the vehicle made its debut at Airshow China 2024, which is being held from 12 to 17 November at Zhuhai. AVIC describes the SS-UAV as a next-generation “large unmanned aerial common platform”.
AVIC published specifications showing that the SS-UAV has a length of 16.35 m, a wingspan of 25 m, and a height of 4.99 m. The UAV has a maximum mission altitude of 15,000 m, a maximum flight speed of 378 kt, and a minimum flight speed of 108 kt. AVIC added that the high-altitude long-range (HALE) UAV has an endurance of over 12 h and a ferry range of 7,000 km.
“By replacing different modular mission payloads, it can be widely applied in many fields such as intelligent logistics transportation in high-security and complex environments,” AVIC said, adding that the UAV will also be capable of conducting maritime surveillance, border defence emergency rescue, plus air-based communication and navigation.
The SS-UAV has a “modular design, open-system architecture”, and “broad-spectrum situational fusion perception,” AVIC added.
Images from Airshow China 2024 show that the UAV was displayed with several payload module options. AVIC's published information suggests that the modular containers will have a maximum payload capacity of four tonnes and measure 6 m in length, 1.5 m in width, and 1.1 m in height.
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