CASIC WJ-600

History

The CASIC WJ-600 is a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, although commonly referred to as a drone) currently being developed in China under the name China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). From the looks of it, the WJ-600 will be a sea-land attack drone, designed as a stand-alone weapons platform or in joint operations with the People's Liberation Army (PLA). As such, the WJ-600 will be equipped with the latest Chinese optical and sensor technology, and will support existing tracking and attack systems as well as various weapon options (mostly missiles, although bombs will reportedly be supported as well).

The WJ-600 was first introduced in 2010 during the China Airshow.

The general layout of the WJ-600 follows traditional design concepts. There is a long, centralized cylindrical fuselage that houses all applicable shipboard systems, including avionics, fuel depots, mission equipment and powerplants. Like other advanced drones, the WJ-600 has a unique bulbous nose assembly to accommodate mission critical components.

A single turbojet is mounted in the rear of the fuselage. The engine is drawn in through the top air intake, clearly visible above the rear of the fuselage spine. The main wing assembly is attached directly amidships as a straight, high mounted attachment.

Each wing has a hard point for external transport of ammunition. The aircraft's tail will be equipped with a vertical tail and a pair of horizontal planes. The engine jets directly under the vertical tail. There appears to be no landing gear as part of the complete WJ-600 system.

Instead, the aircraft is launched via a missile package located under the tail and recovered via an automatic parachute system, bringing the fuselage to rest with the help of an inflatable boat (based on published images).

The WJ-600 is said to have an electronic synthetic aperture radar system inside as well as an electronic surveillance suite, allowing it to operate at different altitudes, day or night, and in all weather conditions. The base armed surveillance mission will have a payload threshold of 600kg, and special mission packages will enable it to conduct active reconnaissance, target simulation, electronic warfare and communications as needed. Each wing supports a single mount point for missiles or similar artillery - guided/homing anti-tank, dropping bombs, etc.

The engine will provide an estimated top speed of 720 kilometers per hour at an operating altitude of approximately 10,000 meters and a range of up to 2,100 kilometers.

Specification

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Production

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Performance

Performance

Armor

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