Chinese navy deploys new VTOL UAV

An image released by Chinese media shows what appears to be a Sea Cavalry SD-40 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being deployed with the People’s Liberation’s Army Navy (PLAN): a development that suggests the platform is either being trialled by or has already entered service with the Chinese navy.

The PLAN deployed what appears to be a Sea Cavalry SD-40 VTOL UAV from a Luyang II-class destroyer during a training exercise held in late February in the South China Sea. (Via China Military Online )

Published on 26 February on the PLA-sponsored China Military Online website, the image shows the hybrid fixed/rotary-wing platform operating from Luyang II (Type 052C)-class destroyer Lanzhou during a training exercise held in late February in the South China Sea.

The SD-40, which was developed by the Xiamen Han’s Eagle Aviation Technology Company, has a central fuselage with a bay for the sensor payload and a rear-mounted internal combustion engine for forward propulsion. It has twin booms, one either side, in which electric motors powering eight rotors are installed to provide vertical lift.

Possible payloads are electro-optic imaging sensors, communications relay equipment or a mini-synthetic aperture radar.

According to a company brochure, the SD-40 has a maximum take-off weight of 40 kg, an operational ceiling of 5,000 m, an endurance of 6 hours, can carry a 6 kg payload, and reach a top speed of 180 km/h. The 2 m-long platform, which has a wingspan of 3.7 m, can take-off and land in a Level 4 sea state, according to the company.