Aviation / Aerospace

CASIC Skyhawk (series)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) [ 2020 ]

The CASIC Skyhawk represents a series of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle developments that includes the SH-1 and SH-3 forms.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/22/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

The CASIC "Skyhawk" of Chinese aero-industry encompasses a family of related Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) for both military and commercial service. These include the Sky Hawk 1 and Sky Hawk 3 lines. A new, 6,600lb all-wing design was showcased by the company at Zhuhai Air Show 2018 (and slated for the stealth surveillance role), further expanding on the current family offerings.

CASIC stands for "China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation".

The first entry, the Miniature-UAV "SH-1", was revealed at Zhuhai Air Show 2008 as an all-wing design driven by a two-bladed conventional engine arranged in "pusher" configuration. The overall arrangement of the fuselage is more traditional than the SH-3 version detailed below. Its payload capacity reaches 66lb and launching of this vehicle is by rocket-assisted, catapult action while recovery is through simple released parachute to retard the fall. Skids make up the undercarriage facilities. Its overall length reaches 7.5 feet with a wingspan covering 13.78 feet. It can reach speeds around 90 mph up to a ceiling of 16,400 feet.

The SH-3 switches to a twin-boom fuselage arrangement with a similar pusher engine configuration as the SH-1. However, the tail section introduces a pair of downward-facing, outward-canted vertical planes for stability though recovery is similar to the SH-1 involving parachute and skid formation. Its length is increased out to 11.8 feet while its wingspan equals this measurement. The payload capacity is a relatively restricted 11lb. The operating ceiling of this entry is reduced to 9,840 feet while operating at speeds nearing 75 mph.

The SH-3 model includes both the "SH-3A" and "SH-3B" models. The A-model introduces a more conventional wheeled tricycle undercarriage for improved runway/airfield support (no longer requiring the use of a catapult for launching) though recovery still involves parachute deployment. The B-model is a very different hand-launched Micro-Air Vehicle (MAV) approach - though still powered by a twin-bladed pusher propeller unit which is electrically-driven in the design. Flight time is limited to 45 minutes and recovery is by runaway/airfield or parachute fall.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

November 2018 - The stealthy Skyhawk UAV version of the Skyhawk family line was unveiled at Zhuhai 2018.

January 2019 - Video showing the Skyhawk stealth UAV on its first flight was revealed to the public.

Specifications

Service Year

2020

Origin

China

Status

IN-DEVELOPMENT
Program in Progress.

Crew

0
UNMANNED

Production

1
UNITS

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) - China

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

China (probable)

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

✓ Unmanned Capability
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.

Length

7.5 ft
(2.30 m)

Width/Span

13.8 ft
(4.20 m)

Empty Wgt

220 lb
(100 kg)

MTOW

331 lb
(150 kg)

Wgt Diff

+110 lb
(+50 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the CASIC Skyhawk 1 production variant)

Installed: 1 x Conventional engine driving two-bladed propeller in pusher configuration.

Max Speed

75 mph
(120 kph | 65 kts)

Ceiling

16,404 ft
(5,000 m | 3 mi)

Range

186 mi
(300 km | 556 nm)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the CASIC Skyhawk 1 production variant. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None. Mission-equipment carried.

Supported Types

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Skyhawk - Base Project Name.

Skyhawk 1 (SH-1) - Model of 2008; miniature UAV form; catapult-launched; flying wing fuselage; conventional engine driving two-bladed propeller unit in pusher configuration.

Skyhawk 3 (SH-3) - Twin-boom fuselage configuration; conventional engine driving two-bladed propeller unit in pusher configuration; inverted-V tailplanes; skid undercarriage.

Skyhawk 3A (SH-3A) - Based in the SH-3 form; tricycle undercarriage; increased MTOW.

Skyhawk 3B (SH-3B) - Micro-Air Vehicle (MAV) form; revised, traditional fuselage layout; electrically-driven.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.