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Tiannu - Sky Crossbow

Tiannu UAV is a multi-purpose UAV made in China. In September 2011, at the " Aviation Industry Cup International Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Innovation Award", the "Tiannu" UAV of the Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute (601) of AVIC and Shenyang Aerospace University made its debut. "Tiannu" is regarded as a scaled-down verification machine of "Sharp Sword".

The Tiannu UAV is similar in appearance to the American-made X-47B unmanned attack aircraft, and is also known as the "Red X-47B". The Tiannu UAV is a tailless aircraft, which has extremely high stealth performance against radar waves of all bands. Because there is no tail fin, it is possible to use a high angle of attack when landing to facilitate deceleration, and it will not affect the field of view.

Since the appearance is similar to the X-47B UAV designed and built by Northrop Grumman, the Tiannu UAV is also known as the "Red X-47B" and is driven by an electric ducted engine. Tiannu belongs to the experimental stage. As some of the information is confidential, it is not convenient to disclose. However, it is said that the Tiannu UAV once landed on a simulated aircraft carrier of the Navy and successfully completed the take-off and landing mission. Therefore, it is speculated that the Tiannu UAV may be a carrier-based unmanned fighter like the X-47B.

China's Shen Fei is developing China's heavy-duty unmanned attack aircraft project, and it is reported that this unmanned attack aircraft is similar to the US X-47B. As early as September 2011, in the drone model competition held by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Shen Fei not only exposed the J-31 fighter model for the first time, but also launched a new type of flying-wing unmanned attack aircraft.

Richard Fisher, an American military expert, said that from the outside, this drone is compatible with the X-47B drone produced by Northrop Grumman and the "Phantom Works" produced by Boeing. The drones should be of the same class. The United States said that Shen Fei is designing an unmanned attack aircraft with a wingspan of 15 meters and a fuselage length of 11 meters, using a flying wing layout.

According to the US media, the rear abdomen of the "Tiannu" UAV is designed with a tail hook, which shows that the aircraft is also a carrier-based unmanned attack aircraft similar to the X-47B in terms of functional positioning.

The core project of the 2011 AVIC UAV model competition was to land the UAV on a simulated aircraft carrier deck, and the UAV model launched by Shen Fei fulfilled the specified requirements very well, indicating that the entire The size of this Shenfei unmanned attack aircraft is likely to board the deck of a Chinese aircraft carrier. Some military experts have said that whether it is the speculation of netizens or our actual development, this kind of carrier-based drone, especially if it is possible to develop a “integrated inspection and combat” drone in the future.

According to foreign media, the Chinese drone project was launched in the 1990s. However, most of the time the Chinese drone projects are kept secret, it is difficult for the outside world to assess their advanced level. China's first demonstration of UAV ambitions was at the 2006 Zhuhai Air Show. At that time, Shen Fei launched the "Dark Sword" supersonic unmanned attack aircraft concept model, which attracted widespread attention from the outside world. The development status of this unmanned attack aircraft is still unknown.

Since the Chinese carrier-based unmanned attack aircraft has not been officially exposed, the performance data of various aspects are also unknown. However, some US military experts assessed that after 6-7 years of research and development, the performance of China's unmanned attack aircraft should be worth looking forward to. Although there is still a long time to go before the ship, the land-based take-off version should be deployed within the next three years.

Confusingly, the totally unrelated Tiannu team of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Fudan University has created a "Lee Arrow" - the "Tiannu" aerial anti-UAV system, which will use drones to supervise the drones. On 22 November 2020, in the “Flying Shark Cup” 6th China Postgraduate Future Aircraft Innovation Competition, the team’s latest sub-system, the “Helicarrier” multi-rotor aerial autonomous docking and landing system, won the best physical demonstration award in the audience. And the second prize of the regular track. The Tiannu team is composed of students from Fudan University. Their mentor is Ai Jianliang, the deputy dean of the Institute of Science and Technology of Fudan University, the professor of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the director of the Institute of Aircraft Design. Under his careful guidance, the team began to develop the "Tiannu" system in October 2018.

Length: 11 meters Wingspan: 15 meters Machine height: 3 meters Empty weight: unknown Maximum take-off weight: unknown Practical ceiling: unknown Maximum engine thrust: unknown Combat capability unknown