Dubai Airshow 2023: Chinese AR-2000 large ship-borne UAV makes debut
The turbine-powered UAV can host sensor and offensive payload. (Photo: Norbert Neumann/Shephard)
CATIC have displayed its new AR-2000 drone at Dubai Airshow 2023, emphasising ship-based capabilities with PLA already purchasing.
Attendees at the Dubai Airshow 2023 were granted a first-time glimpse of China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation's (CATIC) AR-2000 large rotary-wing drone designed for ship-borne operations.
The platform has been going through the testing phase and awaiting permissions, but that has not stopped the People’s Liberation Army already buying an undisclosed number of the drones, a CATIC official told Shephard during the show. The official added that the platform conducted its maiden flight earlier this year but could not say when CATIC would finalise testing.
CATIC has hopes that customers in the Middle East region will take interest in the AR-2000, but currently ‘no conversations are being had’ with customers outside China, the official noted.
The drone displayed at the show appeared to have been equipped with a SATCOM antenna in its nose and a smaller SATCOM antenna on its tail boom. The AR-2000 can also feature a wide range of short-range air-launched missiles.
The turbine-powered UAV can host sensors and reportedly conducted its maiden flight in 2023. According to the CATIC official, although the UAV’s configuration has been optimised for ship-based operation, it can fulfil a variety of missions on- or offshore.
Shephard's Dubai Airshow 2023 coverage is sponsored by:
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