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Gongji-11 (GJ-11)

2019 MODERN AIRCRAFT DRONE TECHNOLOGY

History

Such is China's military commitment to unmanned "drone" aircraft, with huge local investments enabling a range of modern battlefield products, from small portables to large fully autonomous. These include the new "Gongji-11" (also known as "GJ-11") Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) unveiled at China's National Day military parade on October 1, 2019.

The aircraft is attempting to significantly expand China's unmanned capabilities, and appears to be heavily influenced by Western designs in shape and overall size - namely Northrop Grumman's X, a US technology demonstrator -47B.

Although little is known about the capabilities of the GJ-11, it is believed that the aircraft has some commonalities with similar aircraft of its size and role worldwide. It is intended to be used as an attack aircraft, so the internal weapons bay is part of the aircraft layout. Another distinguishing feature is the inherent stealth characteristics of the design, namely the low profile and hooded exhaust.

In this way, the aircraft is designed to "infiltrate" enemy airspace and attack targets of strategic value without being detected.

The appearance of this aircraft is no different from the X-47B in that it has a full wing plane (without any tail) with an internally aspirated turbofan powered by an air intake mounted directly on the back Provides power and is sucked over the nose. The engine exits through a shallow port in the rear of the fuselage, which is also located at the back.

The wings blend well into the fuselage and promote a smooth overall profile. The overall shape of the aircraft is that of an arrow, maximizing aerodynamics and fuel efficiency within a useful operating range. Provides retractable tricycle landing gear for general ground running practice.

This new UCAV is assumed to be autonomous.

Despite all the potential of the GJ-11 design, it is still a very new and largely untried addition to the Chinese UCAV lineup. Therefore, only time will tell if the system lives up to its high fees.

Some of the information on this page is an estimate.