Star UAV System Co Ltd, a Chengdu-based developer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has unveiled its export-oriented Star Shadow unmanned air vehicle (UCAV) concept at the Singapore Airshow 2018.
The Star Shadow's surfaces are built into the fuselage and wings' trailing edges and upper sections to minimise its radar cross section. Two TWS800 small turbofan engines developed will be dorsally mounted, with low observable intakes located on either side of the nose leading. To facilitate a strike role the drone will be installed with a large ventral payload bay measuring 2.5 m long, 0.76 m wide, and with a depth of 0.7 m. This will give it a payload capacity of 400 kg, comparable to that of a light fighter aircraft such as the J-10, allowing the Star Shadow to effectively fulfil a precision strike role.
The star shadow is in many ways analogous to the U.S. Military's RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone, though the American platform was designed exclusively for a reconnaissance role. It is very possible that China acquired RQ-170's technologies through Iran, which downed the advanced U.S. stealth drone almost completely intact over its airspace in 2011 using electronic warfare systems. Considering the two countries' close and longstanding defence partnership, and Iran's attempts to reverse engineer the stealth drone in which China could well have provided invaluable technical assistance, it is highly likely that China gained access to the cutting edge U.S. stealth technology the drone fielded.
Body length 7.3m
Wingspan 15m
Height of drone 1.84m
The built - in weapon compartment is 2.5 meters long, 0.76 meters wide and 0.7 meters high
The empty weight is 2100 kilograms
Maximum take-off weight 4000 kg
The payload is 400 kilograms
Powerplant a TWS800 small turbofan engine specially designed and produced by a brother company for the use of uavs, weighing 200 kg, with a dry thrust of 7500 n and a cruise thrust of 2000 n
Maximum flight speed :698 km/h
Cruising speed :400-600 km/h
Battery life :10-12 hours
Control radius : 2000 km
Ceiling : 15000 m
Cruising altitude: 12,000 m
RCS 0.1㎡
