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AR500C unmanned helicopter

The AR500C is a prototype unmanned helicopter developed on the basis of the AR500B unmanned helicopter technology. It is mainly deployed in the plateau area as the main battlefield to achieve full-territory coverage. It is an information support equipment and is mainly used For reconnaissance, electronic reconnaissance, communication relay and other tasks.

The AR500C prototype unmanned helicopter has a maximum take-off weight of 500 kg, a take-off altitude of 5,000 meters, a service ceiling of 6,700 meters, a battery life of about 5 hours, a maximum level flight speed of 170 kilometers per hour, and a maximum cruise speed of 165 kilometers per hour; Advanced flight functions such as automatic take-off and landing, automatic hovering, and over-the-horizon route flight functions; with manual stabilization flight/command flight/automatic route flight function; with three-dimensional programmed flight function; with pre-programmed flight, online route re-planning and wireless Upload function; through the boundary protection design, it has the function of limiting the safe flight area; it has the function of automatic diagnosis and identification of the main components of the unmanned helicopter.

The AR500C prototype unmanned helicopter also has a wide range of application development capabilities. The installation of corresponding equipment can implement electronic interference, search support, security and fire protection, forest fire prevention, maritime supervision, nuclear radiation and chemical reconnaissance, and independent or coordinated manned aircraft to perform target instructions, firepower strikes and material delivery tasks.

The Helicopter Institute launched the development of prototype UAV helicopters in 2019. It mainly carried out core content such as prototype engine selection, prototype rotor system design, new aerodynamic shape reconstruction, quick release of tail boom, and composite body structure design. The development work passed the plan design review in June 2019, the detailed design review in August, the first aircraft assembly was completed at the end of March 2020, and the ground test was completed in May.

In line with the current army's special warfare, the army's firepower is remote and guided, this kind of ground contactless or limited contact will become the main combat method. If there is a sudden conflict in a certain area, light forces or quick-reaction forces are deployed quickly, broken up into pieces, and scattered to various tactical nodes. Long-distance surveillance and monitoring of enemy targets. UAVs can maximize the scope of surveillance and monitoring, or provide a smooth front and rear data link.

Each tactical node sends target information to the rear firepower delivery unit. Hula la, hula la, a precise strike. After the battle damage assessment, ground forces withdrew immediately. It made people feel dizzy. At the same time, the medium-sized troops are also gradually gathering to the area where the incident occurred to deal with the possible greater confrontation. If the situation deteriorates further, the heavy troops will also be there.

Unmanned helicopters have the characteristics of low cost, high flexibility, good maneuverability, and low environmental requirements. In complex climate and geographical environments, unmanned helicopters can also effectively avoid rescue personnel casualties and other issues, which are very suitable for leading emergency rescues. Quickly penetrate the disaster site; at the same time, relying on advanced remote sensing and communication technologies, the aviation emergency rescue involving drones can also detect the disaster in real time and transmit the data back. When the new crown pneumonia epidemic situation is severe, unmanned helicopters also played a unique role.

Since 2004, the Helicopter Institute has established a UAV R&D team for model development. After more than ten years of development, it has broken through many key technologies of UAVs. It has developed 200kg, 500kg and 1 ton AR Serialized products, covering a variety of products from multi-rotor, industrial-grade conventional configurations, and new concepts.

Take the AR-500 unmanned helicopter as an example. The effective mission load is 150 kg, the maximum level flight speed is 160 kilometers per hour, the service ceiling is 5000 meters, and the control radius is 100 kilometers; its single sortie has a 6-8 hour mission capability. Radars, relay stations, megaphones, delivery devices, and lighting equipment can be installed to perform tasks such as communication relay and search and rescue. It can search and locate personnel for a long time and on a large scale, and can provide small batches of medicines, Delivery capacity of food, water and life-saving appliances.

Since 2019, the AR-500 flying communication relay platform demonstration and verification machine has carried out demonstration flight tests in many places, and has been transferred to Jiagedaqi, Daziyangshan, Yakeshi, Sahe and other areas in Daxinganling. Conducted actual combat garrison tests. In the actual forest combat environment, the flying and maneuvering capabilities of the unmanned helicopter system, photoelectric pod reconnaissance capabilities, broadband ad hoc network video transmission capabilities, and voice relay communication capabilities have been fully evaluated, and the floating communication relay platform verification machine related Performance indicators verify the technical feasibility of the floating communication relay platform applied to forest fire fighting.

The physical appearance of the UAV found on 075 is similar to that of AR-500C, an unmanned helicopter developed by the AVIC 602 Research Institute, which flew for the first time on 20 May 2020. Although the appearance cannot always be a proof of the pedigree of an industrial project, it gives reason to look for the achievements of the AVIC R&D department in naval drones. The company specializes in the design of helicopters and has designed several unmanned helicopters, such as the famous AV-500W.

The AVIC Helicopter Research Institute (CHRDI, 602) won an important bid for the development of drones from the Chinese Navy on September 8, 2016. The project was described as "this project is extraordinary and has epoch-making significance in promoting the development of naval weapons and equipment." The tender for this project did not disclose details, but an in-depth search of articles published from 2015 to 2018 still provided some interesting points:

• The AVIC Helicopter Research Institute won the bid in the face of competition from many private companies and state-run organizations in this field.
• One of the requirements is to operate the drone in a "highly complex" environment.
• One of the key characteristics required in the specification is great autonomy in flight.
• The fuel tank of the aircraft was added during the design process, and the thickness of the tank body was also reduced, from 1mm to 0.4mm.
• The personnel responsible for designing these tanks also worked on the AC352 project (a local version of Airbus H175) and a heavy helicopter project.
• The UAV's embedded system entered the testing phase in May 2018.

It is not yet possible to confirm that the equipment found on the first Type 075 amphibious assault ship is indeed an unmanned helicopter, and it is the kind of equipment developed by the AVIC Helicopter Research Institute. However, while waiting for new public information, it will be useful to focus on scenarios where the Chinese Navy uses VTOL drones. Because 10 years after the first qualification test, the operational deployment of UAVs on Chinese warships is only a matter of time.

The AR500C 500 kg unmanned helicopter, developed by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), is China's first domestically developed unmanned helicopter focused on plateau operations. Capable of conducting missions including reconnaissance, communication relay, electronic disruption and fire strike at high altitude, this versatile and easy-to-operate drone could help safeguard China's southwestern borders with India, analysts said.

The AR500C unmanned helicopter on 20 May 2020 successfully made its maiden flight at an AVIC base in Poyang, East China's Jiangxi Province, in which it conducted several maneuvers including hovering, horizontal and vertical moves. Its main missions include reconnaissance and communication relay, but when equipped with additional devices, it can also run electronic disruption, target indication, fire strike, cargo delivery and nuclear radiation and chemical contamination reconnaissance.

As China's first unmanned helicopter designed to fly in plateau areas, the AR500C can take off at an elevation of 5,000 meters and has a ceiling of 6,700 meters. It has an endurance of five hours, maximum speed of 170 kilometers an hour and a maximum takeoff weight of 500 kilograms. Highly digitalized and intelligent, it can take off, land and hover automatically and is installed with a number of advanced flight programs for efficient and safe flights.

"We utilize advanced aerodynamic design for the rotors. Since the power of the engine will drop significantly on plateaus, we use China's most advanced engine," Fang Yonghong, technology director at AVIC's helicopter branch, said on CCTV, noting the unmanned helicopter can be easily controlled via a keyboard and a screen. Compared to a traditional fixed-wing drone, a drone helicopter does not require a large airstrip with long runways, making it more flexible to deploy.

The maiden flight of the AR500C marked a significant technological breakthrough in fields such as rotor and engine design, Fu said, noting the thin air on plateaus usually makes it difficult for aircraft to fly. The test flight of the AR500C came at a time when China-India border tensions have been flaring up, as Chinese border defense troops have bolstered border control measures and made necessary moves in response to India's recent, illegal construction of defense facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region.

An unmanned helicopter like the AR500C can help in missions in the high elevation border areas if commissioned into the Chinese military in the future, as it can keep a watchful eye on the skies for extended periods and patrol locations that are difficult for infantry troops to reach on foot, analysts said.

Helicopters have the characteristics of maneuverability and free take-off and landing. They can perform different tasks in various environments such as cities, seas, mountains, forests, and polar regions, ranging from aviation training, emergency rescue, disaster relief to air weddings, travel adventures and even TV aerial photography, helicopters It plays an irreplaceable and unique role in the field of general aviation.

On 27 September 2020 China's first high-prototype unmanned helicopter AR-500C successfully conducted a test flight at the world's highest civilian airport, Aden Airport, creating a new record for the take-off and landing altitude of domestic unmanned helicopters, and becoming the first unmanned helicopter to successfully take off and land atv. This type of high-prototype unmanned helicopter by China's helicopter model development chief designer unit - located in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, the aviation industry helicopter design institute independently developed. In the morning, the AR-500C rose from the ground up, completed the hover swing, before and after the mobile flight, and then landed smoothly. The data show that the unmanned helicopter is in good condition.

Model Master Zeng Guogui introduced this first high-prototype unmanned helicopter of this type of highland scientific research flight, test flight results verified the AR-500C high-prototype unmanned helicopter basically has the full range of flight capabilities under > the high altitude, low air density and atmospheric pressure, the large temperature difference between day and night, the complexity of terrain and weather, the flight control, flight safety and flight performance of unmanned helicopters present great challenges.

To this end, the research team of this type of machine carried out the core content development of AR-500C, such as high prototype engine selection and high prototype rotor system design, so that its performance on the basis of the prototype has been greatly improved.

The maximum take-off weight is 500 kg, the take-off altitude is 5000 meters, the lift limit is 6700 meters, the flight time is about 5 hours, the maximum flat speed is 170 kilometers per hour, and the maximum cruising speed is 165 kilometers per hour. The AR-500C high-prototype unmanned helicopter with a wide range of application development capabilities, equipped with appropriate equipment to carry out search support, security fire, forest fire prevention and material delivery tasks.

AVIC is also developing other types of unmanned helicopters including the AV500 and its armed reconnaissance variant AV500W. Some of them can also reach plateaus, but cannot go as high as the AR500C. The Chinese military operates the Z-8G, China's first large transport helicopter with a focus on plateau operations. It can take off from 4,500 meters above sea level and has a ceiling of more than 6,000 meters and lift troops and supplies to high-altitude areas.