Recently, the British Jane's Defense reported that Saudi Arabia plans to purchase China's "Wing Loong 10" UAV production line: this is the third Chinese UAV production line purchased by Saudi Arabia after Rainbow UAV and TB-001. Regardless of the truth or falsity of the news of the British, it is also a fact that the share of Chinese drones in Middle Eastern countries is increasing;
Since the beginning of 2017, when the Rainbow-4 drones entered the Saudi army, they have become the favorite of the Saudi military - the United States refuses to provide similar Chada drones to Saudi Arabia, let alone provide technical assistance;
Although the Rainbow-4 has been shot down repeatedly, Saudi Arabia has seen the advantages of drone warfare: it is far more cost-effective than British and American manned fighters, and it does not have to worry about casualties and morale - so it continues to purchase and provide drones to the Libyan opposition...... In 2019, he purchased the Pterodactyl-2BE, which was also shot down in Yemen, which further proves the Saudi military's view: drones can greatly reduce the pressure on the front and can obtain the same intelligent combat power as the Israeli military;
At this moment, the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia has entered the fast lane, while the establishment of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which the United States is expecting, has entered the slow lane: Israel has always been unwilling to recognize the two-state solution...... The Saudi military found that the Israeli Heron drone could not adapt to its own combat needs in actual combat, so it asked Israel to return it;
In 2022, Saudi Arabia has taken a fancy to the TB-001 UAV again: it has purchased a production line at any expense - it can be regarded as a supplement to the Rainbow-4 production line, and it is also the foundation for Saudi Arabia to produce large UAVs on its own - Saudi Arabia proves that the Saudi Vision 2030 plan is not a false one!
Of course, China still left the three-shot and four-shot twin-tailed scorpions: they can't let the princes have a hot head and go directly to the Mediterranean or Europe! And Saudi Arabia finds that China's drones are becoming more and more abundant: in addition to the pterodactyl and rainbow, there are other drone products to choose from, so the police have installed Chinese civilian drone products;
Until "Pterodactyl-10" entered the Saudi Arabia procurement list: "Haiyan-1" can accurately drop a sonde at an altitude of 10,000 meters, detect and collect data in typhoons, conduct meteorological detection in storms, and have the function of stealth/relay network station, using twin turbofan engines to achieve dual-engine and dual-control high-altitude high-speed UAVs, which can meet the needs of multi-purpose UAVs used in various scenarios at home and abroad, military and civilian;
The Saudi Air Force, which learned from the Pakistan Air Force, was pleasantly surprised to find that the Chinese military also installed two models of the "Wing Loong 10" - indicating that their performance is stable and meets the requirements of the air force of a powerful country - for this reason, Saudi Arabia has made up its mind: to purchase this UAV;
On October 19, 2020, the Pterodactyl-10 image reconnaissance UAV equipped with ZF850 engine 102 completed its first flight, and on October 30, 2020, the Pterodactyl 10 integrated UAV equipped with ZF850 engine 103 completed its first flight.
The "Pterodactyl 10" UAV is the first high-altitude and high-speed foreign trade UAV in China, with a V-shaped double vertical tail design, the tail nozzle is placed on the back, and the fuselage stealth coating makes the aircraft have stealth capabilities. In 2016, the single-engine model was first unveiled at the Zhuhai Air Show, and the single-engine model uses a ZF850 turbojet engine, which is suitable for performing tasks with high requirements for task efficiency such as rapid reconnaissance and fixed-point elimination in a medium-threat environment.
"Pterodactyl 10" has 4 hardpoints under the wing, with a maximum bomb load of 400 kg, including YJ-9E light anti-ship missiles, BA-21 millimeter-wave long-range anti-tank missiles, LS6 100 kg guided bombs, BBM2 satellite-guided gliding bombs, BBM3 satellite-guided bombs, FT7 gliding bombs, etc. Among them, the longest-range is the YJ-9E anti-ship missile, which has a maximum range of 50 km; the BA-21 anti-tank missile, the maximum range is unknown, and it is expected to be in the range of 15 km to 20 km, which is just beyond the killing zone of the enemy's short-range air defense missile system; the FT7 precision-guided bomb outside the defense zone adopts a special stone projectile wing structure, and the overall diameter of the bomb is very small, which can be placed in the inner bomb bay of the J-20;
The ZF850 jet engine developed by an enterprise in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, with a thrust of 850 kg, is used as a radar and optical reconnaissance type "Yunying 1", a radio reconnaissance model "Yunying 2", and a "Yunying 3" aircraft integrated with reconnaissance and fighting. "Yunying 1" is equipped with high-definition CCD cameras and synthetic aperture radar, which is specially used for large-scale surveying and mapping; "Yunying 2" is mainly equipped with full-band radar signal detection equipment and communication signal reconnaissance equipment to detect and locate all ground radar positions within 400 km and communication signals within 200 km; "Yunying 3" is equipped with synthetic aperture radar and photoelectric turrets, and can attack targets at a distance of 50 kilometers by using a variety of advanced precision-guided bombs and missiles.
Saudi Arabia may be interested in the "Yunying-3" UAV: single-engine, integrated reconnaissance and fighting, equipped with a full system of precision-guided munitions, especially the United States to strike Palestinian civilians small-diameter bomb technology - this is impossible for any Arab country to develop in a short period of time: FT-7 precision-guided bomb weighs 130 kg, uses INS+GPS guidance, and is a small-diameter precision-guided weapon that is dropped outside the defense zone and accurately striked, mainly used to combat concrete-reinforced underground fortifications, ground buildings, railways, bridges, small and medium-sized command posts, air defense positions, communication hubs, air bases, naval bases, ballistic missile bases, warehouses, oil tanks, aircraft concealment hangars, various types of light technical weapons, surface ships and other important military targets;
Saudi Arabia's acquisition of the "Pterodactyl-10" is only a part of the beginning of domestic industrialization: the production of drones must have processing, materials, supporting equipment and other blessings to succeed - just in line with the principle of Saudi Arabia's "industrial rejuvenation"! Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" is in a critical transition period: the mathematical economy, promoting the diversification of the non-oil economy, increasing the employment rate of women, creating a competitive working environment, and achieving localized employment goals in the private sector all require the support of the industrial system, while China can provide a complete manufacturing industry, By buying Chinese drones, Saudi Arabia can establish a one-stop system of R&D, production and maintenance, and can also obtain China's economic and political support;
Therefore, Saudi Arabia will become the country with the most powerful Chada drone in the Middle East, which can suppress Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Israel, and even say "no" to the United States.