On January 5, 2018, China Central Television (CCTV) released the video featuring the “saucer-like flying wing design ” SkyHawk/TianYing drone. It is a high-altitude, long-range and high-speed unmanned aerial vehicle capable of conducting reconnaissance and patrol missions in hostile environments, CCTV reported.
This wasn’t the UAV’s first flight, which China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) says happened back in February 2018. However, it’s the first time the public has gotten to see it zoom around. Observers immediately noted its superficial similarities to the US’ X-47B drone, built by Northrop Grumman for the US Navy, although the X-47B is also much larger than the Sky Hawk, with a 62-foot wingspan and roughly 44,000 lb weight. The Sky Hawk weighs in at a paltry 6,600 lbs.
It was unveiled at the 12th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, better known as the Zhuhai Airshow, in November alongside another stealthy drone of a similar flying wing design, the CH-7, which CBS called a “combat drone.” It’s not known what the new Sky Hawk’s designation is, but the South China Morning Post said it will have both combat and reconnaissance roles.
The Sky Hawk is also much, much smaller than the CH-7, with a wingspan of merely 35 feet, compared to the CH-7’s 72-foot span.
But the Sky Hawk isn’t just stealthy, it’s also smart. It’s well-equipped to handle the emerging field of “manned-unmanned teaming” (MUM-T), a program designed to partner drones with living, breathing pilots up in the air.
“Battlefields of the future will be very intense and confrontational, and stealthy drones like the Sky Hawk will have a huge role to play,” Ma Hongzhong, its chief engineer at China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, told news portal Thepaper.cn on Thursday. “Manned-unmanned teaming is the technology of the future… and the Sky Hawk has such a capability.”
Sources: YouTube; Sputnik