Photo: V750 helicopter drone at static (Credit SITTA)
Article published on the website of the French Ministry of Defence (Source : http://www.defense.gouv.fr/ema/sitta/les-salons-precedents/china-air-show-2014/articles-airshow-china-2014)
V750 multi-role helicopter drone ready for production
The V750 from China’s Superior Aviation Beijing is currently the largest Chinese helicopter drone ready to go into production. It is a “droned” version of the American-made Brantly B2-B light two-seater helicopter, whose manufacturer Brantly International was acquired by the Chinese company Qingdao Haili Helicopters in 2007.
With a take-off weight of 750 kg, the V750 offers a payload capacity of 80 kg for a flight time of 4 hours, and a range of 150 km limited by its data link. The V750 UAV can be equipped with many types of payloads, including an optronic ball and/or SAR radar for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as various other civil scientific detection systems and even aerial work equipment, including agricultural spraying.
Compared to the original B2-B helicopter, the UAV will have been re-engined with a new 180 hp Superior Vantage 4-cylinder flat-piston petrol engine instead of the original Lycomming IO-360. The integration of an autopilot with GPS module and linked to a remote control system was carried out by Weifang Freesky Aviation Industry, in collaboration with the research institutes CETC (China Electronics Technology group Corporation) and AVIC – Xi’an FACRI (Flight Automatic Control Research Institute).
Following the first flight of the prototype in May 2011, the Weifang company carried out numerous test flights which led to one of the first Chinese aeronautical certifications (CAAC) for a drone in December 2012. The V750 is also equipped with an automatic landing system and would be particularly well suited to maritime use for landing on the flight deck of a ship.
Weifang company is expected to unveil an armed version of the V750 drone soon.
