China sells deadly pterodactyls worldwide. To everyone and without questions
Wing Loong II v Dubaji 2017. Kredit: Mztourist / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0
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The market for combat drones is booming. They are increasingly seen in events in many parts of the world and this trend is likely to continue to accelerate. According to experts, one of the key accelerators of this process is China. An important role in this is played by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), which, among other things, manufactures intensively armed drones, both for the Chinese army and for the whole world.
To avoid confusion, American companies still hold a dominant position in the global war drone market. However, the advent of Chinese drones, especially AVIC’s drones, seems to be interfering with somehow balanced strategic conditions in a number of places around the world. Worst of all, Chinese activities are apparently spinning arms races, resulting in many more flying kills in the world.
According to Bloomberg, AVIC has sold hundreds of advanced Chengdu Wing Loong II (military designation GJ2) armed with missiles and bombs to the world in recent years. In total, there were 220 drones in 16 countries. Pterodactyls II operate in Yemen for the Saudi Air Force against Hutian militias. In Pakistan, they even produce them for the local air force. The customer is also the United Arab Emirates, which is deploying them in the Libyan civil war. These drones are also operated by Egypt against rebels in Sinai, and the air force in Nigeria deploys them against extremist Boko Haram. An unspecified number of these drones are undoubtedly available to the Chinese army.
Wing Loong II with weapons. Credit: Credit: Mztourist / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0
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The drone with propeller drive, GPS navigation, optical and infrared sensors, with a length of 11 meters, a wingspan of 20.5 and a maximum takeoff weight of 4.2 tons can carry up to 12 rockets or bombs. Wing Loong II can be used for intelligence purposes as well as to perform accurate strikes or strikes from a long distance.
Needless to say, the sale of weapons, including combat drones, has little to do with beaver hunting. However, some of these deals are significantly more problematic than others. According to Ulrike Franke of the European Council on Foreign Relations, the problem is that China sells drones to virtually anyone, without asking anything unless the country in question criticizes China too much.
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A comparable type of aircraft is, for example, the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper. Credit: Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt / Wikimedia Commons.
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Wing Loong II drones gained popularity mainly due to the fact that they are very cheap. One such pterodactyl costs $ 1-2 million. They are about fifteen times cheaper than comparable American combat drones, which cost more than $ 15 million. According to Pawel Paszak, director of the China Monitor program at the Polish Warsaw Institute, Chinese drones are probably not as good and reliable as American drones, which they resemble with a smile. But if you can have 15 drones instead of one and no one asks annoying human rights questions? According to Paszak, it is a tempting offer.
The Chinese government, of course, vehemently denies that its export of combat drones would lead to arms races. But Bloomberg points out that countries such as Turkey, Japan, South Korea and Russia are apparently intensifying their own production of combat drones as a result of Chinese activities and exports. Michael Horowitz of the American University of Pennsylvania is convinced that due to Chinese exports of combat drones, we will witness the widespread spread of these technologies around the world.
Video: Wing Loong II UAV demonstrates multiple missiles firing
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