Divine Ark UAV
Divine Ark UAVs are Chinese UAVs developed by Chengdu Shen-Zhou (meaning Divine Ark) Aircraft Co., Ltd. (Divine Ark, 成都神舟飞行器有限公司), which is a company formed by retired aeronautical specialists. As of end of 2013, all of its products are unmanned blimps.
| ST-3 Pioneer 3 | |
|---|---|
| Role | UAV |
| National origin | China |
| Manufacturer | Shen-Zhou (meaning Divine Ark) Aircraft Co., Ltd. (Divine Ark) |
| Designer | Divine Ark |
| First flight | 2003 |
| Introduction | 2003 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | China |
ST-3 Pioneer 3
ST-3 Pioneer 3 (Ka-Tuo-Zhe San-Hao 开拓者3号) is the first UAV developed by Divine Ark, which made its maiden flight on December 16, 2003,[1] and the general designer is Mr. Kuan Tian-Jin (旷天金).[2] ST-3 Pioneer 3 is designed to replace the imported Japanese VIP-200 unmanned blimp, and has greatly improved performance. For example, the payload is more than doubled and the remote control radius is twenty times than that of Japanese VIP-200 unmanned blimps sold to China.[3] ST-3 Pioneer 3 is propelled by a pair of four-blade ducted fans driven by German engine. Specification:[4][5]
- Length (m): 17.63
- Volume (cu m): 150
- Ceiling (km): 2.5
- Speed (km/hr): 75
- Payload (kg): 35
- Remote control radius (km): 30
- Navigation: GPS
Military blimp
Divine Ark Military blimp is jointly developed by Divine Ark and People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department (PLAGLD). The PLAGLD general designer from the general design team is Mr. Hu Zhi-Yi (胡志毅). Military blimp is a development of earlier ST-3 Pioneer 3, and it is intended for reconnaissance missions. It is considered a stealth platform because it is constructed of composite material that may be difficult to detect by radar. Military blimp carried an reconnaissance system that integrates three subsystems, radar imaging system, infrared imaging system and optical imaging system. Military blimp was publicized by CCTV-7 in December 2009.[6]
References