US Predator vs. China’s CH-4 drone

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

US Predator vs. China’s CH-4 drone

This is a real race for superiority. The People’s Liberation Army’s CH-4 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is receiving high-profile publicity in China after being touted as being superior in all key indicators to the American MQ-1 Predator.

The CH-4, otherwise known as the Cai Hong-4 or Rainbow-4 drone, was developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The drone was most recently on display at the 2014 Tianjin International UAV and Model Exhibition on Aug. 29, just days after its use in the multinational Peace Mission 2014 military exercise in Inner Mongolia featuring member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Unmanned systems conference 2014 – Israel

PLA Air Force spokesperson Shen Jinke said on Aug. 26 that during Peace Mission 2014 the CH-4 was “tasked with surveillance, reconnaissance, and ground attacks, [and] will play a vital role in fighting terrorism.” Feng Aiwang, commander of the exercise’s PLA Air Force battle group, later said that the CH-4 hit every one of its targets in several missile firings, with national broadcaster CCTV also airing rare footage of a missile hitting a simulated enemy vehicle.

According to sUAS, The CH-4 has been dubbed the Chinese version of the US MQ-1 Predator developed by General Atomics, though Chinese state media is claiming that the CH-4 is superior in just about every way.