Shenyang (AVIC) Divine Eagle

High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

China | 2020

"The Chinese-originated Shenyang Divine Eagle HALE UAV utilizes an unconventional twin-fuselage arrangement for its design."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/22/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

The Shenyang "Divine Eagle" joins the Chengdu "Soar Dragon" (detailed elsewhere on this site) as two possible High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to fulfill an ongoing Chinese military requirement. The Divine Eagle is a dimensionally large UAV in the class of the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk and is currently believed to be in the prototype stage based on Chinese internet photographs and satellite image captured - its top-down profile showcased on a runway.

Engineers took an unconventional approach when arranging the Divine Eagle. A twin-fuselage configuration is used joined by a small mainplane at front and a longer-span mainplane at rear. This produces a pseudo "twin-boom" layout and canard-wing form. The primary wing mainplanes are seated aft of midships and extend outwards from the ends of the two fuselage nacelles. Twin tall vertical fins complete the tail section. The forward mainplane is far more contained, nestled between the two fuselage noses and are not extended beyond the nacelles. The sole turbojet engine powering the air vehicle is seated between the twin vertical fins at rear and atop the joining horizontal section of the rear mainplane. A wheeled tricycle undercarriage is used for ground running. It is believed that the nose sections house radomes and the mission suite made up of sensors. Dorsal fuselage blisters may house SATCOM equipment or similar fits.

The unique design path is intended to reduce the weight of the wings while maintaining the needed high-altitude performance. The creation ends up looking like two conjoined General Atomics "Reaper" UAVs.

The chief concern to the United States and China's regional neighbors is that the Divine Eagle (and Soar Dragon) will someday be developed to support Chinese anti-ship missiles - for this Americans this means a direct threat to its warships, particularly its aircraft carriers. China's military growth and aspirations is also seen as a general threat to the region due to its claims over land areas of the South China Sea and airspace associated with it.

The Divine Eagle is not known to have completed a first flight as of yet (2015). Industry analysts place its battlefield role in Airborne Early Warning (AEW), an area of need for the Chinese military.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Shenyang Divine Eagle High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

1 x WP-13 turbojet engine developing 9,900 lb of thrust OR 1 x Minshan turbojet engine developing 7,000 lb of thrust.
Propulsion

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Shenyang Divine Eagle High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

0
(UNMANNED)
Crew

50.0 ft
15.25 m
O/A Length

132.0 ft
(40.23 m)
O/A Width

33,069 lb
(15,000 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Shenyang (AVIC) Divine Eagle High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) .

Possible guided missiles or precision-guided bombs.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Shenyang (AVIC) Divine Eagle family line.

Divine Eagle - Base Series Name

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Shenyang (AVIC) Divine Eagle. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1 Units
Contractor(s): Shenyang Aircraft Corporation / Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) - China

[ China (probable) ]

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Production Comparison

1

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

1 / 1

Image of the Shenyang (AVIC) Divine Eagle

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

GROUND ATTACK

AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING

ANTI-SHIP

ELECTRONIC WARFARE

RECONNAISSANCE

UNMANNED

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Going Further...
The Shenyang (AVIC) Divine Eagle High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) appears in the following collections:

HOME

AVIATION INDEX

AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY

AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2025 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks U.S. DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols US 5-Star Generals WW2 Weapons by Country

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes Global Firepower, WDMMA.org, WDMMW.org, and World War Next.

©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)