FJUT UAV
UAV | |
---|---|
Role | Fixed & rotary wing UAVs |
National origin | China |
Manufacturer | FJUT |
Designer | FJUT |
Status | In service |
Primary user | China |
|
FJUT UAVs is a series of Chinese UAVs developed by Fujian University of Technology (FJUT) and has entered service in China for aerial cinematography, photography, and survey missions.
Fixed-wing UAV
Fixed-wing UAV is a small UAV in conventional layout with high wing configuration and tricycle landing gear. Propulsion is provided by a two-blade propeller driven tractor engine mounted in the nose. The UAV is capable of fully autonomous flight, but can also be remotely piloted to change its course. Specification:[1]
- Max speed (km/hr): > 90
- Cruise speed (km/hr): 40 – 70
- Range (km): 50
- Endurance (hr): 1
- Normal cruise altitude (m): 100 – 600
- Launch and recovery: taxiing
Quadrotor
Along with the fixed-wing UAV, FJUT Quadcopter is the other member of the pair of UAVs developed by FJUT UAV research team. Development for both UAV was conducted in parallel and both begun in 2006, and during the development, prototypes had crushed several dozen times, and almost every single part encountered developmental difficulties and had to be redesigned, according to the research team member Mr. Zheng Ji-Shi (郑积仕).[1] Nonetheless, the development cost is still rather low in comparison to other Chinese UAV developers: the total cost of developing the quadrotor and the fixed-wing UAV is approximately ¥ 300,000. The unit price will also be relatively cheap, for these two UAVs, the unit price ranges ¥ 3,000 to 5,000 once entering mass production.[1] Another important benefit resulted from the development of quadcopter and fixed-wing UAV that was not originally expected was that the control systems developed can be adopted for unmanned ground vehicle and unmanned underwater vehicle with only minor modification, and it has been adopted in such way for UAVs FJUT developed later.[1]
Surveillance UAV
Based on the experienced gained in developing the quadcopter and fixed-wing UAV, FJUT fielded its third UAV, dubbed as surveillance UAV, because it was originally developed to perform aerial surveillance missions. Although initially intended for aerial surveillance missions, it is also capable performing a variety of other missions including aerial cinematography, photography, traffic and law enforcement applications, disaster relief, reconnaissance, drone, and electronic warfare.[2] Different payload can be carried based on the missions. Surveillance UAV is a much more advanced UAV than the first two UAV FJUT developed earlier, and thus cost significantly more than its predecessors. Externally, FJUT Surveillance UAV looks almost identical to another Chinese UAV Weiyujie W-1 Sky Hawk, and like Weiyujie W-1 Sky Hawk, propulsion of FJUT Surveillance UAV is a two-blade propeller driven pusher engine mounted at the empennage.[2] Besides difference in performance parameter, the greatest distinction between the two is that FJUT Surveillance UAV uses the flight control systems derived from that of quadcopter and fixed-wing UAV developed earlier. Specification:[2]
- Endurance (hr): 1
- Range (km): 49
- Speed (km/hr): > 90
- Data transmission range (km): 15
- Unit price for entire system (¥): 200,000
Survey UAV
Survey UAV is an UAV developed by FJUT specifically for aerial survey applications, and its existence was revealed in 2014 when it made its public debut at the 12th Cross Strait Technology and Project Fair held in Fuzhou in June 2014.[1] Survey UAV is in blended wing body layout with winglets. Propulsion is provided by a two-blade propeller driven pusher engine mounted at empennage. The UAV is designed for rapid deployment and is intended to gather geographic information for 3D maps. Specification:[1]
- Normal operating altitude (m): 500
- Speed (km/hr): 60 – 100
- Weight (kg): 5 – 6
- Launch: catapult
- Recovery: parachute
See also
List of unmanned aerial vehicles of the People's Republic of China