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series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) marketed
CASC Rainbow is a series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) marketed.
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CASC Rainbow ( Chinese : 彩虹 ; pinyin : cǎihóng , abbreviation CH ) is a series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) marketed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
The UAVs are produced by CASC's China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA).
The CH-3 is a fixed-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). It first flew in 2007. The CH-3 has a 70 kg payload, and can carry the AR-1 air-to-ground missile and FT-9 guided bomb.
Externally, the CH-4 looks almost identical to the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper , with the only distinct visual difference between the two UAVs being the ventral fin below the V-tail on MQ-9 which is absent on the CH-4. There are two versions, the CH-4A and CH-4B . The CH-4A is a reconnaissance drone (capable of a 3500–5000 km range and a 30- to 40-hour endurance life) while the CH-4B is a mixed attack and reconnaissance system with provisions for 6 weapons and a payload of up to 250 to 345 kg.
CH-4 is capable of firing air-to-ground missiles from an altitude of 5,000 meters (~16,400 feet), meaning the aircraft is capable of staying outside the effective range of most anti-aircraft guns. It also allows the CH-4 to be able to fire from a position that provides a wider area of view.
Length: 8.5 m (28 ft)
Wingspan: 18 m (59 ft)
Maximum takeoff weight: 1,300 kg (2,900 lb)
Payload: 345 kg (761 lb)
Endurance: 40 hours
Powerplant: 1 x 100 horsepower piston engine
Maximum speed: 235 knots (435 km/h)
Cruise speed: 180 knots (330 km/h)
Communications range: >1,000 km (620 mi) with SatCom (1,500-2,000 km for CH-4B), ~150 km (93 mi) from Ground Control Station (GCS)
Armaments: AR-1 missile, AR-2 missile (20 kg, 5 kg armour-piercing warhead, inertial guidance system with terminal semi-active laser (SAL) seeker, maximum range 8 km), AKD-10 air-to-surface anti-tank missile, BRM-1 90mm guided rocket, FT-7 130 kg glide bombs, FT-9/50 50 kg bomb, FT-10/25 25 kg bomb, GB-7/50 50 kg precision-guided munition (PGM), GB-4/100 PGM.
The CH-5 is a large UAV with a wingspan of 21 metres, a payload of 1,000 kg, a maximum takeoff weight of over 3 tonnes, a service ceiling of 9 km, an endurance life of up to 60 hours, and a range of 10,000 km. Thanks to a shared data link system, it can cooperate with CH-3 and CH-4 drones. It conducted its maiden flight in August 2015 at its first airshow flight (in northern Hebei province ) in July 2017. The drone can carry a maximum of 16 missiles at a single time. There were also plans to extend its range up to 20,000 km. Chinese officials claimed the CH-5 Rainbow was similar in performance to the US MQ-9 Reaper and "may come in at less than half the price". Compared to the Garrett TPE331 turboprop engine mounted on the Reaper, the CH-5 is equipped with an unidentified turbo-charged piston engine with less than half the horsepower . This design consideration limits the maximum altitude of the CH-5 to 9 km compared to the 12–15 km of the Reaper, but it also extends CH-5's endurance life to 60 hours compared to the Reaper's 14 hours.
A more recent engine variant, with a 300 kW piston engine from Anhui Hangrui Co., will increase the service ceiling to 12 km and the endurance life to 120 hours.
Armaments: AR-1 missile, AR-2 missile (20 kg, 5 kg armour-piercing warhead, inertial guidance system with terminal semi-active laser (SAL) seeker, maximum range 8 km)
The CH-6 is a large UAV with a MTOW of 7800 kg with two variants: a strike variant with an 18-hour endurance life and a 450 kg payload; a reconnaissance variant with a 21-hour endurance life and a 120 kg payload. It was in development in 2021.
The CH-7 is a stealth , flying wing UCAV similar to the X-47B , with a 22m wingspan and a 10m length. It can fly at 920 km/h and an altitude of 13,000 m. The endurance life is around 15 hours with an operational radius of 2,000 km. It can carry anti-radiation missiles and standoff weapons. According to its chief designer, "the CH-7 can intercept radar electronic signals, and simultaneously detect, verify and monitor high-value targets, such as hostile command stations, missile launch sites, and naval vessels". It was planned to make its maiden flight in 2019 and commence production from 2022. A live airframe was spotted in 2024.
Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance , and strike UAV with 11,500 km range.
VTOL micro-surveillance and attack UAV with a top speed of 64.8 km/h and an endurance of 15 minutes.
Nigerian Air Force : 1+ CH-3 (as of 2023.) One crashed in January 2015. The UAVs were operated infrequently due to poor quality. In 2020, another eight in delivery.
CH-4 China Combat and reconnaissance drone 10
CH-3 China Combat and reconnaissance drone 10
CASC Rainbow China ISTAR , UAV Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance , unmanned aerial vehicle CH-3 5 Drones purchased in 2018.
CASC Rainbow China Fixed wing , MALE (medium-altitude long-endurance) UCAV CH-4B 6
CASC Rainbow China UCAV CH-3A unknown
CASC Rainbow China UCAV CH-4 produced under licence
CASC Rainbow China UCAV
CASC Rainbow China UCAV CH-3A
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CASC Rainbow equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
AlgeriaReported count for CASC Rainbow · CH-3 / CASC Rainbow · CH-4. Service scope: Algerian Air Force; does not replace a national total. 2 distinct quantity component(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Explicit source inventory scope: active; no other stock status or total inferred. Count column(s): in service: 5 / in service: 5. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2024), not the article revision. Cited source 2024-05-29. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Reported count for CASC Rainbow · CH-3 / CASC Rainbow · CH-4. Service scope: Algerian Air Force; does not replace a national total. 2 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): in service: 5 / in service: 5. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2024), not the article revision. Cited source 2024-05-29. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Reported count for CH-4 / CH-3. Service scope: Algerian Land Forces; does not replace a national total. 2 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): number: 10 / number: 10. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
Armenia ChinaArmy exact named equipment holdings: CH-4B. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: UNINHABITED AERIAL VEHICLES / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Democratic Republic of the CongoAir Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-4B. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: UNINHABITED AERIAL VEHICLES / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
IndonesiaAir Force exact named equipment holdings: CH-4B. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: UNINHABITED AERIAL VEHICLES / Heavy. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Iraq
Myanmar
SerbiaArmy exact named equipment holdings: CH-92A. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: UNINHABITED AERIAL VEHICLES / Medium. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Sudan
TurkmenistanAlgeria, Armenia, Indonesia, Iraq, Myanmar, Serbia, Sudan, Turkmenistan
Equipment reference ↗Lower-bound count for CASC CH-4B. Service scope: People's Liberation Army Ground Force Aviation; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct quantity component(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Explicit source inventory scope: active; no other stock status or total inferred. Count column(s): in service: 5+. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
Lower-bound count for CASC CH-4B. Service scope: People's Liberation Army Ground Force Aviation; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): in service: 5+. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
Reported count for CASC Rainbow · CH-4B. Service scope: Indonesian Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct quantity component(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Explicit source inventory scope: active; no other stock status or total inferred. Count column(s): in service: 6. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
Reported count for CASC Rainbow · CH-4B. Service scope: Indonesian Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): in service: 6. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.