The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

The WZ-5 is a type of aircraft that flies at high altitude and high subsonic speed and is mainly used for scientific research such as military reconnaissance, high-altitude photography, target aircraft or geological survey, and atmospheric sampling.

It is also the only drone that participated in the "Red Dragon's Roar" military operation and played an important role in the subsequent war.

But if we have to talk about a leap forward, it must be the birth of the "Saker Falcon" unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

The 'Haidongqing' unmanned reconnaissance aircraft has not yet been officially announced, although the outside world already knows of its existence.

Every time there is an air show in Zhuhai, there are always military fans expecting it to appear at the air show, but it never shows up.

Since the first 'Haidongqing' unmanned reconnaissance aircraft entered service in 1995, the 'Haidongqing' has been in service in the Air Force for 10 years. The Air Force, equipped with 40 'Haidongqing' unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, has greatly improved its aerial reconnaissance capabilities.

During the riots triggered by the financial crisis in Southeast Asia, the Haidongqing unmanned reconnaissance aircraft played a huge role in aerial reconnaissance.

In the 2001 South Asian War, the "Haidongqing" UAV also played a very important role. In conjunction with military reconnaissance satellites, it was able to clearly detect every move of the Indian army.

It is precisely because of this that the 'Haidongqing' unmanned reconnaissance aircraft won the National Science and Technology Progress Special Award.

However, Panshan Group's research on UAVs did not stop at the 'Haidongqing' unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, but also developed the 'Wing Loong' UAV and the 'Rainbow' UAV.

The 'Haidongqing' unmanned reconnaissance aircraft is positioned as a high-altitude long-range UAV with the ability to provide data and responses uninterruptedly day and night and all weather conditions. It is mainly used for long-range reconnaissance.

The Wing Loong UAV is positioned as a military and civilian dual-use medium-low altitude long-flight multi-purpose UAV, which can carry various reconnaissance, laser illumination/range finding, electronic countermeasure equipment and air-to-ground strike weapons. It can perform surveillance, reconnaissance and ground attack missions, and can be used for maintaining stability, counter-terrorism and border patrols.

The Wing Loong UAV can be used in civil and scientific research fields, such as disaster monitoring, anti-smuggling and drug detection, environmental protection, geological exploration, meteorological observation, geodesy and forest fire prevention.

There are currently two types of 'Rainbow' UAVs, namely the 'Rainbow-1' UAV (CH-1UAV) and the 'Rainbow-2' UAV (CH-2UAV), which are defined as medium-range reconnaissance and strike UAVs.

‘彩虹-1’起飞重量1260千克、载重重量115千克、续航时间30小时、操作半径250千米、最大航程3500千米、巡航高度8000米、巡航速度180千米/小时、载油量325米，采用水平轮式起降方式。

The Rainbow-1 has four weapon racks and can carry a 4-kilogram light precision-guided bomb on each of the two outermost racks.

'Rainbow-2' was developed based on 'Rainbow-1'. It is larger in size and has a greatly increased load-bearing capacity. It has 6 hanging points under its wings, which can carry 16 different types of air-to-ground missiles at a time, with a maximum load of 1 ton.

Drones will play a significant role in future wars.

Since Liu Tao knew about it, he would naturally not ignore it. It was because of his attention that Panshan Group put a lot of effort into the development of UAVs.

Three types of drones have been developed so far, and more will be developed in the future, forming one series after another.

Of course, this does not mean that manned aircraft will be eliminated.

Unmanned aircraft and manned aircraft are not contradictory; they can coexist.

The two can develop simultaneously and promote each other.

UAVs are also developed for military and civilian use. Some aircraft are purely military, such as the "Haidongqing" unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, which is purely military, and some are dual-use, such as the "Wing Loong" UAV, which can be used for both military and civilian purposes. Of course, some UAVs are purely civilian. In the next 20 years, Panshan Group will continue to invest heavily in the field of UAVs and strengthen the development of UAVs.

As early as the 80s, several domestic universities had opened drone-related courses, and the military also gradually established corresponding drone units.

Since the late 90s, drones have been an important force in the Air Force's aerial reconnaissance. The Air Force has also been practicing with the Army on the use of drones in warfare, and has been constantly exploring the application and tactics of drones on the battlefield.

By now, drones have become a multiplier for enhancing the military's combat effectiveness.

If any country goes to war with China again, the effectiveness of trench warfare and the like will be greatly reduced.

Because there might be small drones carrying bombs and throwing small wars into the trenches.

Moreover, the reconnaissance aspect has also been greatly strengthened through drone reconnaissance. It is not easy to avoid drone reconnaissance.

This has been verified in recent exercises.

Of course, while developing and improving drones, Panshan Group is also studying measures against drones.

After all, there may be attacks from enemy drones on the battlefield.

The United States is also not weak in the field of drones.

Currently, there are roughly three ways.

The first and most traditional method is to use anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns to shoot down drones. At present, the air defense forces of the army have already taken "drone interception" as one of the training subjects. It has been a major training task in all previous exercises, and a special drone target has been developed for this purpose.

In actual combat, the anti-aircraft artillery units of the army will be organized into artillery groups. Each artillery group is equipped with several anti-aircraft artillery, and is equipped with fire control radar and air defense radar on the position to send firing parameters to each artillery group and issue attack orders. With effective organization and the cooperation of fire control radar, it is not a big problem to use anti-aircraft artillery to shoot down drones. It is also one of the easy ways to shoot down drones.

The second is to use medium- and short-range air defense missiles to shoot down drones. Currently, drones do not fly very high, so as long as their radar performance is intact and their response is fast, they can be shot down by short-range air defense missiles.

But this method is a bit like "killing a nut with a sledgehammer". How much does a drone cost? How much does an air defense missile cost?

If drones are mass-produced, their price can be very low, while even portable air defense missiles, such as a Vanguard missile, cost $8 in the international market.

The third is to use laser weapons to destroy drones. However, due to the limitation of high-energy batteries, vehicle-mounted laser weapons cannot be used on the battlefield and are only experimental in the short term.

This is to directly destroy the drone. There is also drone countermeasures, such as through radio frequency interference, signal deception and other methods.

The relationship between drones and anti-drones is like that between a spear and a shield. China needs both a sharp spear and a solid shield to be invincible on the battlefield.

Even in the future, as tactical laser weapons such as vehicle-mounted laser cannons and laser guns are used on the battlefield, the ability to defend against drones will be greatly improved. (End of this chapter)