Chinese Company Hunan Sunward Co Ltd presents its Sunward SUH-50 FeiYue, a new concept of light unmanned helicopter fully designed and developed by Hunan Sunward. The goal of this new VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) unmanned aircraft is to fill a gap of light and MALE UAV which are available in the Chinese military market.
Sunward SUH-50 FeiYue UAV at AirShow China 2018. (Picture source Army Recognition)
The SUH-50 FeiYue was unveiled at AirShow China in November 2018. This VTOL can be used for a full range of missions such as intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR), boarder and coastal patrol, emergency response, and fire monitoring.
The Sunward SUH-50 FeiYue VTOL UAV is equipped with an automatic control system for automatic take-off, maneuver and landing capability. The under-fuselage is fitted with a skid-type fixed landing gear. It can work in full autonomous mode. The portable ground control station of the SUH-50 FeiYue includes equipment for communication and control, unmanned aerial system operator and payload operator work stations. This VTOL is equipped with a two-stroke piston engine driving the main rotor system.
The SUH-50 FeiYue has a payload capacity of up to 35kg that can be housed in the lower part of the nose section. It can simultaneously carry multiple payloads including day/night vision, camera system, as well as other payloads such as sensors, transmitters, radar, re-transmitters and signal jammers.
The SUH-50 FeiYue has a length of 2.58 m, a wingspan of 0.67m and a height of 1.04 m. It has an operational endurance of three hours.
The SUH-50 FeiYue has a flight endurance of six hours and it can fly at a maximum cruise speed of 60 km/h. It has a service ceiling of 2,000 m and a maximum take-off weight is 95 kg.
