CH-7, a peer competitor to US-made RQ-180, 'ready to meet navy's demand for maritime missions'

A series of new members of China's CH drone family, including the large-size armed reconnaissance drone CH-9 and the latest upgraded version of the stealth early-warning drone CH-7, have debuted at Airshow China 2024 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province.

New products also include the low-cost drone CH-3D, the cargo drone CH-YH1000, as well as a series of air-to-surface missiles.

The CH-9 is the latest entry to the CH armed reconnaissance drone series. The length of its body is about 12 meters, with a wingspan of around 25 meters. The maximum range of this large armed reconnaissance drone with weapons loaded can reach more than 11,500 kilometers and its maximum takeoff weight is 5,000 kilograms. The maximum flight time is 40 hours and the ceiling limit is 11,000 meters, the Global Times learned from the developer, Aerospace CH UAV Co Ltd.

When undertaking reconnaissance and strike missions, the CH-9 has high combat capability to detect and destroy targets as it can carry a huge amount of weapons. It can also circle around in the air for a very long time over the targets, the developer said.   

The CH-7 is another super star airshow among the numerous UAVs that were displayed in Zhuhai this year. It is an advanced stealth drone for early-warning mission and electronic warfare. According to the developer, its maximum takeoff weight is eight tons, the cruising speed is Mach 0.5 and the service ceiling limit is 16,000 meters. 

The stealth aircraft's scale model made its debut at the airshow in 2018, but at that time, it was being designed to be a stealth armed reconnaissance UAV that can play a strategic role in combat, so it was bigger and able to conduct strike missions to eliminate a strategic target. However, six years on, the CH-7 project has experienced a change from strategic drone to advanced tactical drone that is able to conduct various missions due to the development of modern warfare and the changing demand of clients, Cao Ran of Aerospace CH UAV told the Global Times at the airshow.

The missions that the CH-7 can conduct include monitoring combat zones, electronic support and jamming, and the radar that it carries can carry out long-range air and sea surveillance, and detect large surface vessels, according to the developer.    

In other words, the CH-7 is the "eyes" for other combat units who are responsible for attack, such as bombers or fighter jets, going deep inside the enemy's area taking advantage of its advanced stealth and searching capabilities to locate hostile warships including aircraft carriers. Then, bombers or other units can launch missiles with precision, destroying the enemy's vessels from a long distance, Cao said. 

Cao said the stealth capability of the CH-7 is outstanding, and is on the same level as the US-made RQ-180. Even if the CH-7 gets spotted by the enemy's radar and gets shot down during the mission, it has already transmitted valuable information about the enemy back to the command system. Moreover, the price is affordable, as now the CH-7 is not an expensive strategic drone anymore. A few losses for unmanned aerial vehicles for a victory of the battle is a good deal for sure, Cao noted.    

Cao told the Global Times on Monday that since the CH-7 is now becoming a stealth early warning drone, it is also becoming smaller and lighter. "The CH-7 could also be used for different types of maritime missions according to the demand of our navy" he said.

"The CH-7 has great potential, and we can make adjustments to meet the different demands of our clients," Cao said.