CHINA’S WING-LOONG II UAS CONDUCTS MAIDEN FLIGHT

China’s home-developed Wing-Loong II, the new reconnaissance and strike multirole endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS), successfully completed its maiden flight on February 27, 2017 lasting 31 minutes. UAS series were developed by Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China. With more than 20-m wingspan, the Wing-Loong II is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, multirole UAS integrated with both reconnaissance and strike capabilities. It is 11 m in length, has a maximum flying altitude of 9 km, with a flying speed reaching up to 340 km per hour and can fly for 20 hours in a persistent mission cruise.