China has unveiled a new long-duration surveillance and precision strike drone, known as the KVD002, an aerial weapon that could have significant implications in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.
The newly unveiled KVD002 armed reconnaissance drone of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Army has likely participated in patrols and exercises around the island of Taiwan since 2022, identified then as the CH-4.
Shortly after the KVD002 medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial system was displayed for the first time in public at the 6th China Helicopter Exposition held in North China’s Tianjin Municipality last week, media reports emerged to say that the KVD002 is a variant of the highly renowned CH-4 specially customized for the PLA Army.
The aerodynamic design of the KVD002 on display at the expo boasted a high resemblance to that of the CH-4, and it carried the AR-1 air-to-ground missile that was also developed by the Aerospace CH UAV company, the developer of the CH drone series, observers pointed out.
Neither the PLA Army nor the Aerospace CH UAV company have officially remarked on the relationship between the KVD002 and the CH-4 as of press time.
Since September 2022 and without the knowledge about the KVD002, the defense authority on the island of Taiwan has occasionally reported the presence of CH-4 armed reconnaissance drones during the PLA’s daily patrols and exercises around the island, which have also sometimes featured Z-10 attack helicopters and KVD001 reconnaissance drones of the PLA Army.
The CH-4 has displayed its capabilities overseas, and it was natural that it won interest from domestic users like the PLA Army, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.
The KVD002 can conduct reconnaissance missions around the island of Taiwan and conduct precision strikes when necessary, Fu said.
Before the presumed commissioning of the CH-4 into the PLA Army as the KVD002, more than 200 units of the CH-4 were sold on the international market as of November 2022, Aerospace CH UAV company told the Global Times at the time.
The KVD002 has outstanding comprehensive performance, is easy to operate and maintain, can be expanded for additional missions and is capable of conducting short takeoff and landing in plateau regions, the description read. This means that the KVD002 is intended to be used in different terrain across the country, not only in the Taiwan Straits, observers said.
Source: Global Times