China's drone force augmented with latest unmanned vehicle launch
Aug 21, 2022
Beijing [China], August 21 : With the launch of its latest unmanned vehicle last week China has augmented its drone force.
AR-500CJ, a new type of shipborne unmanned helicopter developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) made its maiden flight recently in Poyang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, CGTN reported.
During its maiden flight, the AR-500CJ aircraft completed training courses in manned take-off, landing, hovering and other areas and landed smoothly.
The AR-500CJ developed by a research institute of the AVIC is an updated version of the AR-500BJ, a lightweight shipborne unmanned helicopter that can be used for both military and civilian applications such as maritime search and rescue.
Compared with the AR-500BJ, the AR-500CJ's flight performance and mission have been comprehensively improved through technological breakthroughs.
The aircraft will undergo functional and performance test flights in China and is due to pass its technical appraisal in 2023, as per CGTN.
Besides the helicopter drone, China has developed other unmanned hardware, such as the drone mother ship, the Zhu Hai Yun, the world's first AI-powered drone mother ship whose wide deck can carry dozens of unmanned vehicles, including aerial drones, unmanned ships and submersibles.
According to China Central Television, the ship which was developed by the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory in Zhuhai. It will provide an unprecedented tool for China to carry out marine scientific research and promote the development of the marine economy, Global Times reported.
Meanwhile, China is building a naval facility in Cambodia for military use, the second such overseas outpost and its first in the strategically significant Indo-Pacific region.
The military presence will be on the northern portion of Cambodia's Ream Naval Base, on the Gulf of Thailand, The Washington Post reported. This is China's only other foreign military base right now after a naval facility in the East African country of Djibouti.
China had signed a secret agreement to allow its military to use the base, citing U.S. and allied officials familiar with the matter, according to The Wall Street Journal published in 2019.
