Recently, CCTV News Military reported on the amphibious sea crossing exercise of the 73rd Group Army. During the exercise, the new surveillance and combat integrated unmanned helicopter Golden Eagle CR-500 UAV is the first unmanned helicopter on the mainland, which currently adopts a coaxial propeller tailless structure. The aircraft debuted at the Zhuhai International Airshow in 2016, completed the delivery and reception of the entire system in 2012, and exported to the UAE for the first time. Now our army has a lot of equipment.
The Golden Eagle CR-500 UAV is developed by China North Industries Group. It can be used on the battlefield for reconnaissance, target positioning, irradiation, communication relay, damage effectiveness assessment, etc. Large payload, long flight time with full load, compact structure, convenient storage and transportation, resistance to strong winds and other advantages. The Golden Eagle CR-500 unmanned helicopter is also the first UAV product of China's military industry to independently develop UAV platforms, mission payloads and ground control stations, realizing a closed supply chain.
As soon as the Golden Eagle CR-500 UAV was launched, it attracted widespread attention from the outside world. At the Zhuhai Air Show five years ago, dozens of different models of drones were on display, so drones received relatively little attention. But it's not that simple. The Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter actually flies reconnaissance as a tracked self-propelled howitzer, so this UAV attracts a lot of attention.
Today, reconnaissance UAVs in service with artillery units are not uncommon. They can detect enemy targets, assess the effectiveness of strikes and provide guidance for the subsequent strike planning of artillery units. But the Golden Eagle CR500 UAV has not only powerful reconnaissance capabilities, but also powerful fire strike capabilities. This raises concerns. It's like a small, unmanned Z-10 gunship.
The Golden Eagle CR-500 UAV adopts a very unique coaxial propeller tailless structure layout. This structure does not need to consider the structure of the stern rotor and stern boom, and there is no problem that the stern rotor consumes part of the power. Therefore, all power can be used for lift and thrust. Therefore, the fuselage of the Golden Eagle CR500 UAV can be made short, and it is less affected by crosswinds, has good flight stability and strong hovering ability. In addition, the size of the whole machine is relatively small, so it is especially suitable for amphibious operations and narrow spaces and warships.
It is known that the most famous of the helicopters with a coaxial propeller tailless layout is the Russian Kamov series helicopters. The Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter adopts a coaxial propeller tailless design, with a smaller rotor diameter and a compact overall design. It can also be installed on a ship. Based on this, it was possible to develop such a product as the American "Fire Scout". This type of shipborne armed unmanned helicopter.
The two main tasks of the Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter are reconnaissance and strike. A highly visible optoelectronic turret was installed under the nose. The photoelectric tower has three device windows, namely a camera system, an infrared thermal imaging dark vision system, a laser ranging and an illumination system. These three systems give the Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter all-weather reconnaissance capabilities.
The Golden Eagle CR500 drone looks like a fathead fish with its tail removed. It has a short wing-fuselage combination. The cross-section of the body is diamond-shaped and has graceful ridges. Its short wings blend in with the body. Integrated, wing-fuselage fusion adds a lot of space, which can increase fuselage space and accommodate more fuel and equipment inside the aircraft. Continental's Wuzhi 10 helicopter also uses a similar model.
In terms of weapon mounting, the Golden Eagle CR500 UAV is characterized by efficient loading capabilities. Under the short wing is a weapon rack that can carry 8 Blue Sword 9 air-to-surface missiles. The fire was so heavy that it reached the armed Zhi-10 helicopter.
The Golden Eagle CR500 UAV has been integrated into the entire military weapon system from the beginning of its development, especially the seamless integration of various large-caliber artillery and rocket launchers. So why should such a long-range gun as a tracked self-propelled howitzer be equipped with a Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter with powerful reconnaissance and strike capabilities?
The Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter's powerful reconnaissance capabilities are necessary for long-range artillery. However, the PLZ-52 tracked self-propelled howitzer has a very powerful firepower and is itself responsible for destroying enemies and targets. Therefore, it seems somewhat redundant that the Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter with 8 missiles seems somewhat redundant.
In fact, the development concept of the Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter, in addition to self-propelled howitzer reconnaissance targets and impact assessment, emphasizes multipurpose. If the Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter is equipped with missiles, it can attack enemy targets on its own. Of course, if the Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter finds a fleeting enemy target during forward reconnaissance, the best solution is to directly use its own missiles to destroy the enemy.
An early demonstration of the Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter was equipped with two Blue Sword-9 air-to-surface missiles. The current Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter is equipped with 8 Blue Arrow 9 missiles or 8 Blue Arrow 5 missiles, which greatly improves the overall strike capability. With a massive missile payload, the Golden Eagle CR500 has an unparalleled advantage in anti-tank combat, capable of destroying enemy armored formations in a more stealthy way than manned gunships.
Suppose an army UAV company transports 24 compact Golden Eagle CR500 integrated reconnaissance attack helicopters using all-terrain vehicles. Theoretically, it is possible to control the battlefield within a radius of 300 kilometers. A squadron of Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopters can fire 192 Blue Arrow 9 missiles capable of destroying more than a third of tanks and armored vehicles of foreign armored divisions.
According to modern army combat theory, if an army's armored division loses more than a third of its main battle weapons in a firefight, then the battle can be considered a loss. As the saying goes, "bounded". At this moment, the army has lost the ability to continue fighting, so we must gather and regain strength. The Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned helicopter attacks like a locust-like swarm from air to ground, making it difficult for the enemy to defend.