The development of US military drones is at the world’s leading level. There are
unmanned reconnaissance aircrafts at all levels of strategy, campaign, and tactics, as
well as reconnaissance/attack UAVs and transport drones. At present, US military
drones are deployed in large areas such as the air force, army aviation, and naval air
force, including RQ-4 “Global Hawk”, RQ-7 “Shadow”, MQ-1B “Predator”, MQ-9A
“Reaper”, and BQM-147 “Fire Bee” drones. From low altitude to high altitude, short
range to long range, micro to heavy, the US military covers almost all types of military
drones, even vertical takeoff drones and transport drones. Compared with foreign
troops, the development of China’s UAVs started relatively late. However, after
entering the twenty-first century, explosive growth began, especially the successful
development of “Wing Loong”, “Soar Dragon”, and “CH” series UAVs, marking that
China’s level of R&D and design of military drones has entered the international
advanced level.
The RQ-4 “Global Hawk” is a high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft,
shown in Fig. 1a. Its total length is 13.5 m, with the wingspan of 35.4 m and the height
of 4.6 m. The maximum takeoff weight is 11,610 kg, and the ceiling is 20,000 m. Its
maximum flight speed is 740 km/h, and the cruising time is 42 h. With a range of more
than 26,000 km, it can fly from the United States to anywhere in the world. Equipped
with high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and photoelectric/infrared modules, it can
provide long-range and long-time dynamic monitoring. It can also perform espionage
work on spectrum analysis, discovering crises, and conflicts around the world in
advance and can also help guide the air force’s missile bombing to reduce the number
of missed attacks.
The “Soar Dragon” drone is also a high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft,
shown in Fig. 1b. The total length is 14.3 m, the wingspan is 24.9 m, and the height is
5.4 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 6800 kg, the mission load is 600 kg, and the
ceiling is 20,000 m. The maximum flight speed is 700 km/h, the battery life is 10 h,
and the combat radius is 2500 km. The UAV’s electronic equipment is similar to the
RQ-4 “Global Hawk,” with high-definition digital cameras, digital TVs, and equipped
with synthetic aperture radar, inverse synthetic aperture radar, and several parallel
(a) RQ-4 "Global Hawk"
(b) Soar Dragon
Fig. 1. Unmanned reconnaissance aircrafts
Research on the Development and Application of Unmanned Aerial …
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unmanned reconnaissance aircrafts at all levels of strategy, campaign, and tactics, as
well as reconnaissance/attack UAVs and transport drones. At present, US military
drones are deployed in large areas such as the air force, army aviation, and naval air
force, including RQ-4 “Global Hawk”, RQ-7 “Shadow”, MQ-1B “Predator”, MQ-9A
“Reaper”, and BQM-147 “Fire Bee” drones. From low altitude to high altitude, short
range to long range, micro to heavy, the US military covers almost all types of military
drones, even vertical takeoff drones and transport drones. Compared with foreign
troops, the development of China’s UAVs started relatively late. However, after
entering the twenty-first century, explosive growth began, especially the successful
development of “Wing Loong”, “Soar Dragon”, and “CH” series UAVs, marking that
China’s level of R&D and design of military drones has entered the international
advanced level.
The RQ-4 “Global Hawk” is a high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft,
shown in Fig. 1a. Its total length is 13.5 m, with the wingspan of 35.4 m and the height
of 4.6 m. The maximum takeoff weight is 11,610 kg, and the ceiling is 20,000 m. Its
maximum flight speed is 740 km/h, and the cruising time is 42 h. With a range of more
than 26,000 km, it can fly from the United States to anywhere in the world. Equipped
with high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and photoelectric/infrared modules, it can
provide long-range and long-time dynamic monitoring. It can also perform espionage
work on spectrum analysis, discovering crises, and conflicts around the world in
advance and can also help guide the air force’s missile bombing to reduce the number
of missed attacks.
The “Soar Dragon” drone is also a high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft,
shown in Fig. 1b. The total length is 14.3 m, the wingspan is 24.9 m, and the height is
5.4 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 6800 kg, the mission load is 600 kg, and the
ceiling is 20,000 m. The maximum flight speed is 700 km/h, the battery life is 10 h,
and the combat radius is 2500 km. The UAV’s electronic equipment is similar to the
RQ-4 “Global Hawk,” with high-definition digital cameras, digital TVs, and equipped
with synthetic aperture radar, inverse synthetic aperture radar, and several parallel
(a) RQ-4 "Global Hawk"
(b) Soar Dragon
Fig. 1. Unmanned reconnaissance aircrafts
Research on the Development and Application of Unmanned Aerial …
525