Reconnaissance drone CH-7: China’s Caihong-7 stealth flying wing makes its first flight

On Sunday, China reported the first flight of the Caihong-7 (CH-7) unmanned stealth reconnaissance drone, also known as Rainbow-7. Another unmanned aircraft has thus taken off after years of development – only recently, the flying unmanned drone “mothership” SS-UAV Jiutian completed its first flight.

Work on the CH-7 has been under way since 2018 at the latest; the design has since been revised several times. The drone is intended for long reconnaissance missions, target acquisition for long-range precision weapons and teaming with manned combat aircraft.

What is known about the reconnaissance drone

According to open sources, the flying wing has a span of 27.3 metres; its length is estimated at around 9.4 metres. It is said to weigh about eight tonnes at take-off, and a payload of up to two tonnes is considered possible – whether only sensors or also weapons is unclear. The jet-powered drone’s cruise speed is currently given as Mach 0.5 (around 610 km/h). Whether the top speed of almost 930 km/h reported a few years ago still applies is unclear. Up to 15 hours of flight time and ranges of around 9,700 kilometres are said to be possible at altitudes of up to 16 kilometres.

The People’s Republic of China is investing massively in unmanned systems: in aerial drones of all sizes and roles as well as in unmanned ground vehicles, maritime systems and the matching carrier platforms.

Besides purely military applications, a clear focus on unmanned systems for logistics and cargo transport is evident, above all in the dual-use sector.