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China Appears to Have Secretly Sold Pakistan a Large Combat Drone, Says Report
This was first pointed out by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College. Citing satellite images from November 2017, the Center reported on January 5th that there was a medium-altitude long-endurance drone spotted at the Alam Air Base in Mianwali, Pakistan. "The drone in the image appears to be a Wing Loong I. This assessment is based on its wingspan‐which we believe to be around 14 meters‐ and its V-tail, as well as a comparison with other satellite images of the Wing Loong I elsewhere in the world," the Center noted in its report. The report was later confirmed by IHS Jane’s, which cited different satellite images taken from the same time. The Wing Loong I is a strike-capable medium-altitude long-endurance drone built by the Chinese firm Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It has a length of nine meters and a wingspan of fourteen meters. It can fly at heights of nearly 25,000 feet with a maximum speed of around 280 km/h and a range of 5,000 kilometers. According to IHS Jane's, it has a maximum take-off weight of 1,150 kilograms with a maximum payload capacity of 200 kg. The payload is split fifty-fifty between internal and external weapon stores. It is considered to be China’s version of America’s Predator drone. Posted by: Besoeker 2018-01-13 |
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