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The Chengdu Wing Loong II (Chinese: 翼龙 II; pinyin: Yìlóng Èr; lit. 'Pterodactyl II'), military designation GJ-2, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group in the People's Republic of China. Intended for use as a surveillance and aerial reconnaissance and precision strike platform, Chengdu unveiled the concept of Wing Loong II at the Aviation Expo China in Beijing in September 2015. Wing Loong II has long range strike capability with a satellite link.

Pterodactyl II
Wing Loong II at Dubai Air Show 2017
Role	MALE UCAV Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group
Designer	Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute
First flight	February 2017[1]
Introduction	2017
Status	In service
Primary user	People's Liberation Army Air Force
Produced	2015-present
Developed from	CAIG Wing Loong

Development

The prototype of the Wing Loong II was presented for the first time to the public during the Airshow China exhibition, held in Zhuhai from 1–6 November 2016.[2]

Design

Wing Loong II UAV MALE is an enlarged version of Wing Loong I with longer body and wider wing span. It has a slender fuselage, V-tail and ventral fin. The aircraft features retractable landing gear, including two main wheels under the fuselage and one single wheel under the nose. Each wing has three Hardpoints under the wings with capability of carrying bombs, rockets or air-to-surface missiles. A satellite communications antenna is situated on top front surface of the fuselage, offering long range data transmission between the UAV and the ground station.[2]

Comparison

Comparison of Chinese military UAVs[3]

Variant	Armaments	Takeoff weight	Engine type	Maximum cruise speed	Operational endurance
CH-1	No	220 kg	Piston	140 km/h	6 hours
CH-2	No	220 kg	Piston	160 km/h	8 hours
CH-3	Yes, 80 kg	650 kg	Piston	220 km/h	12 hours
CH-4	Yes, 345 kg	1330 kg	Piston	180 km/h	30 hours for recon / 12 hours for strike
CH-5	Yes, 1000 kg	3300 kg	Turboprop	220 km/h	60 hours for recon / 30 hours with 8 AR-1 missiles
GJ-1 (Wing Loong I)	Yes, 200 kg	1100 kg	Piston	280 km/h	20 hours
GJ-2 (Wing Loong II)	Yes, 480 kg	4200 kg	Turboprop	370 km/h	32 hours / 20 hours at max speed
Wing Loong-10	Yes, 400 kg	3200 kg	Turbojet/Turbofan	620 km/h	32 hours

Variants

Wing Loong II

An upgraded variant of the Wing Loong-1, with provisions for up to twelve air-to-surface missiles.[4][5][6]

GJ-2

Chinese military version of Wing Loong II. Distinguished by the lack of winglets. Officially entered service with the PLAAF in November 2018.[7]

Wing Loong 2H

Civilian, communication, emergency response variant, equipped with synthetic aperture radar and optoelectronic pod which is able to relay and amplify telecommunication signals. The Wing Loong 2H debuted at July 2021 when it was deployed to assist with rescue work in Central China's Henan Province after unprecedented heavy rainfall flooding, providing a stable communication signal that can be directly used by normal phones with areas of over 50 square kilometers.[8]

Operational history

The Wing Loong II is used by UAE to perform airstrikes against the Government of National Accord in the Libyan civil war. The GNA received 12 Bayraktar TB2s in two batches between May and July. At least half of them have been destroyed during LNA airstrikes using Wing Loong IIs; the second batch delivered in July was to replace the losses of the first.[9][10][11] As June 2020, a total of 6 Wing Loong IIs have been reported shot down or lost in Libya, all operated by the LNA.[12] One was allegedly shot down by a laser: if this was true then it was the first time in history that a laser weapon shot down a combat vehicle.[13]

An investigation led by BBC Africa Eye and BBC Arabic Documentaries revealed that the UAE used Wing Loong II drones to fire Chinese Blue Arrow 7 missiles at a military academy in Libya's capital, Tripoli, in January 2020, killing 26 unarmed cadets. The drone was operated from Libya's Al-Khadim air base which has been under the control of the UAE.[14]

During the 2021 Henan floods, because of the interruption of communication in some areas due to flooding, Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched its emergency disaster-response Chengdu Wing Loong II (Wing Loong 2H) to the corresponding areas, and carried out nearly 6 hours of ground reconnaissance and communication relay services.[15][16]

Operators

•  Algeria — 24 units on order for the Algerian Air Force, they should be fully operational by 2022.[17]^{[better source needed]}
•  China — In service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force since 2018, as GJ-2.
•  Saudi Arabia — In service with the Royal Saudi Air Force. Used during the Yemeni Civil War against Houthi militias.
•  Libya — In service with the Libyan Air Force that supported the Haftar's forces during Second Libyan Civil War. Supplied by UAE.
•  Pakistan — In October 2018, it was announced that Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation would jointly produce 48 Wing Loong II UAVs for use by the Pakistan Air Force.[18][19][20]
•  United Arab Emirates — Launch customer for Wing Loong II in 2017.[21]

Specifications

Data from Army Recognition[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: None
• Length: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 20.5 m (67 ft 3 in)
• Height: 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)
• Max takeoff weight: 4,200 kg (9,259 lb)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 370 km/h (230 mph, 200 kn)
• Cruise speed: 200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)
• Stall speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
• Endurance: 32 hours
• Service ceiling: 9,900 m (32,500 ft)

Armament
Up to 480 kg[22][23]

• Bombs
  • FT-10
  • FT-9
  • FT-7
  • GB7
  • GB4
• Missiles
  • BRM1
  • AKD-10
  • BA-7

Avionics

• Air-to-ground radars
• GPS communication system
• Electro-optical pod with day light and infrared cameras and sensors
• Satellite link
• Communications range: >1,000 km (620 mi) with SatCom, ~150 km (93 mi) from Ground Control Station (GCS)[24]

See also

• CAIG Wing Loong
• CAIG Wing Loong II
• CAIG Wing Loong-10
• CASC Rainbow
• Harbin BZK-005
• Tengden TB-001
• CASIC WJ

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• BAE Mantis
• General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper

Related lists

• List of Chinese aircraft
• List of unmanned aerial vehicles of the People's Republic of China

References

[1]

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