CASC CH-7

High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Stealth Combat Drone

China | 2022

"The CASC CH-7 stealth combat drone represents a significant step forward in the UCAV-making process for China."

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.

At Zhuhai Air Show 2018, CASC ("Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation") unveiled a subscale model of its in-development "CH-7" stealth combat drone with a focus on direct-attack of enemy Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C/AWACS) platforms at range through internally-held missiles. The aircraft is a private-venture initiative by the company, who is primarily associated with Chinese space endeavors, and represents a significant evolution of Chinese UAV prowess, particularly concerning flying-wing design as this type of aircraft typically presents a slew of aerodynamic and control challenges for engineers.

The CH-7 certainly shares an appearance akin to several Western all-wing UAV designs, namely the Northrop Grumman X-47B carrier-based drone (detailed elsewhere on this site). The air vehicle sports a "cranked-kite" shape an uses no vertical planes of any kind. It is assumed to carry a single turbofan engine of unknown, model , and output buried within the center-section of the fuselage. Aspiration for this unit is through a dorsal-mounted opening and exhaust is through a port at the rear of the fuselage. A retractable tricycle undercarriage is used for ground-running. Despite its advertised "stealthiness", the aircraft will rely more on onboard equipment to achieve invisibility as opposed to specialized design and skin coatings. Structurally, the CH-7 has an overall length of 33 feet, a wingspan measuring 72 feet, and a gross weight in the 28,500lb range. A selection of powerplant has not yet taken place (2018).

In the Chinese scenario, this stealth aircraft would be able to penetrate enemy airspace unmolested and engage opposing AWACS platforms by launching Anti-Radiation Missiles (ARMs) at the target. Several CH-7s could also work in conjunction to designate targets or surveillance / reconnaissance sorties (by replacing the armament load out with specialized mission equipment). Beyond this, the CH-7 would have the same capability to engage ground-based radar facilities with equal lethality. The UAV would also have secure inter-formation communications to provide data and target information to accompanying manned aircraft carrying more considerable war loads. Other sortie types for this vehicle would also include anti-ship and delivery of precision-guided drop bombs.

A flyable prototype is hoped for as early as 2020-2021 with extensive flight-testing to follow throughout the next decade. Serial production is rather optimistically planned for 2022 with the potential for export sales as well. The general nonrestrictive approach of Chinese technology places China at the head of a potentially lucrative global UAV market in the coming decade - one in which the United States and Israel generally dominate but restrict sales to certain parts of the world and certain customers (mainly the Middle East).

Some of the structural measurements and performance specifications found on this page are estimated on the part of the author.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

November 2018 - CASC displayed a flyable version of its CH-7 at the Zhuhai Air Show.

December 2018 - The CASC CH-7 is slated to fly for the first time in 2019 and enter operational service sometime in 2022.

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the CASC CH-7 High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Stealth Combat Drone.

1 x Turbofan engine of unknown make, model, and thrust output.
Propulsion

550 mph
885 kph | 478 kts
Max Speed

32,808 ft
10,000 m | 6 miles
Service Ceiling

2,175 miles
3,500 km | 1,890 nm
Operational Range

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the CASC CH-7 High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Stealth Combat Drone.

0
(UNMANNED)
Crew

32.8 ft
10.00 m
O/A Length

72.0 ft
(21.95 m)
O/A Width

10.5 ft
(3.20 m)
O/A Height

14,330 lb
(6,500 kg)
Empty Weight

27,007 lb
(12,250 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the CASC CH-7 High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Stealth Combat Drone .

Mission payload of up to 4,000lb stated. Assumed support for Air-to-Surface Missiles (ASMs) (including anti-radiation missiles) as well as precision-guided bombs and conventional drop munitions held in an internal bay.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the CASC CH-7 family line.

CH-7 - Base Series Designation.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the CASC CH-7. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1 Units
Contractor(s): Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) - China

[ China (probable) ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 750mph

Lo: 375mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (550mph).

Graph Average of 563 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

1

36183

44000

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

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

1 / 1

CASC image release.

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

GROUND ATTACK

CLOSE-AIR SUPPORT

AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING

ELECTRONIC WARFARE

RECONNAISSANCE

SPECIAL FORCES

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

Military lapel ribbon for Special Forces

Going Further...
The CASC CH-7 High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) Stealth Combat Drone appears in the following collections:

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