The SC
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2012
- Messages
- 32,233
- Reaction score
- 21
- Country
- Location
The CR500 and MR40 Chinese UAVs at the China-Emirates Science and Technology Innovation Laboratory stand at IDEX 2021.
ABU DHABI: The UAE army plans to buy a bunch of new Chinese unmanned aerial vehicles, one official who wished not to be named told Breaking Defense at IDEX.
“The deals could include 10 to 15 Golden Eagle CR500 helo drones fitted with Red Arrow 12 missiles, and 20 MR40 unmanned aircraft fitted with BBE-2 bombs,” the official told me, adding that both deals will approximately cost $9 million and $7 million respectively.
The UAE is also set to receive “thousands of related missile systems”, he added, with the CR500 being able carry up to 150KG of payloads.
Back in November 2020, China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO) announced its Golden Eagle CR500 vertical take-off and landing UAV had completed final inspections and been cleared for delivery to an undisclosed costumer.
“We expect the first trials to take place in October and deliveries to start within a year” my source added.
According to a Chinese spokesperson, the CR500 has an endurance of up to five hours and can fly up to 3,000 meters, while the MH40 can fly for about 30 minutes over a 5km range while it performs reconnaissance and research missions.
Norinco has said the CR500 Golden Eagle is a coaxial rotor helicopter drone designed for multiple missions including battlefield reconnaissance, target positioning and illuminating, communication relay and battle damage assessment.
It was first showcased at the 2020 Unmanned System Exhibition here.
“The drone can carry a large payload, has a long endurance even when fully loaded, and a compact structure that can be easily stored and transported. It can also resist strong winds, carry different types of electro-optical pods and payloads, and act as a logistics support craft and deliver materials with pinpoint accuracy,” the company says.
The MR40-series is equipped with four rotors and could be fitted with search and targeting radars and reconnaissance subsystems and armed with an array of weapons, including guided missiles and fragmentation bombs.
This comes in light of a relatively new Emirati-Chinese strategy to work on long-term development and research projects for unmanned systems, which was obvious at the show.
Located directly in front of UAE’s agglomerate EDGE Group, was the China-Emirates Science and Technology innovation laboratory (CEST), a joint project between UAE’s International Golden Group and Norinco.
“This project has been going on for more than a year now and focuses on research and development within the field of UAVs,” disclosed the Chinese spokesperson. “Being here at IDEX adds so much value to our work and proves our commitment to the UAE defense industry and the region.”
“What happens is that we discuss the customers’ requirements and jointly do the research either to promote a new product or perform the integration works,” he added.
To experts, this is a significant move.
“This model of a partnership between Norinco and IGG for such entity fits right in the UAE strategy to encourage the transfer of technology through joint projects between the international and local defense industries,” one military official told me.
“The point here is not just to buy products but invest in developing the local research and development capabilities in the areas of unmanned systems and AI, as well as other defense sectors, and tailor made systems for the UAE armed forces for the long run,” he added.
CEST showcased a wide range of Chinese products at IDEX but mainly focused on unmanned systems and their missiles including the CR500, MR40 and MR150 UAVs.
https://breakingdefense.com/2021/02/china-uae-forge-new-deals-joint-rd-plan-new-drone-sales/amp/
Last edited:
