Shenyang WZ-9 Divine Eagle

For the Chinese turboshaft engine, see AVIC WZ-9.
UAV
General information
TypeUAV
National originChina
ManufacturerShenyang Aircraft Corporation
Designer
StatusIn service
Primary userChina

The WZ-9 Divine Eagle (Chinese: 无侦-9 神雕; pinyin: WúZhēn-jiǔ) is a type of Chinese UAVs developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC),[1] featuring a twin-boom configuration with a frontal horizontal stabilizer.[2]

Divine Eagle

Divine Eagle (Shen-Diao or Shendiao, 神雕) is a little-known jet-powered Chinese UAV under development reportedly since 2012. It was possibly in service as of 2018,[3] with its existence first revealed in the Chinese military aircraft development genealogy map (中国军用飞机发展族谱图) as a high altitude long endurance (HALE) counter stealth UAV (高空远程反隐身无人机).[4] It was confirmed by Chinese official sources when the autobiography of aircraft designer academician Li Ming (李明) was published in 2012,[5] in which it was revealed that the Divine Eagle was designed by the 601st Institute (more commonly known as Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute) of SYAC, originally as a proof of concept aircraft for the development of counter stealth UAV.[4] A graphic from a Chinese publication showed the employment concept for a large UAV similar to the Shenyang 'Divine Eagle' concept in a multi-platform warning system. Sukhoi's S-62 UAV concept and variations demonstrated in the 2013 Moscow Airshow are similar to the Divine Eagle，and Sukhoi officials noted that China had expressed "great interest" in the Zond designs.[6] The first confirmed photo of Divine Eagle was revealed in mid 2015 when a photograph of it taxiing was published on the internet.[7]

Divine Eagle is currently the largest UAV in China (as of 2015), with its length approaching that of Shenyang J-11.[8] The photo of Divine Eagle taxiing suggests a fuselage height to length ratio of 1:12, giving probable length of 14.4 to 18 meters, and the wingspan is estimated at 40 to 50 meters.[9] Divine Eagle adopts a unique layout in that it is in twin boom layout with twin tail and what appears to be a low wing configuration. The fuselages have bulbous noses that house satellite communication antennas, and the canard wing is mounted between them, but not at the leading edge.[4][7][8][9][10] A much longer high-aspect ratio wing is mounted aft and an apparent high-bypass turbofan is mounted between two large vertical stabilisers.[4][7][8][9][10] Divine Eagle carries up to seven AESA radars. Its wind tunnel tests were up to an altitude of 25 km and a speed of Mach 0.8.[11]

Specifications (WZ-9)

Data from Interesting Engineering[12]

General characteristics

  • Crew: None
  • Length: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)
  • Wingspan: 45 m (147 ft 8 in)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Unknown type of jet engine

Performance

  • Endurance: 35 hours
  • Service ceiling: 25,000 m (82,000 ft)

Avionics

See also

References

  1. ^ Trevithick, Joseph; Rogoway, Tyler (25 February 2025). "China's Massive WZ-9 Divine Eagle Drone Now Operating From South China Sea Base". The War Zone.
  2. ^ Satam, Parth (28 December 2024). "First Visuals of China's WZ-9 Divine Eagle AEW Drone Surface Online". The Aviationist.
  3. ^ Sean O’Connor (14 November 2018). "Divine Eagle UAV spotted at China's Malan airbase". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. Archived from the original on 2018-11-18.
  4. ^ a b c d "HALE counter stealth UAV". Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  5. ^ Yan Xin-Li (袁新立) (2012), The Way Forward, Aircraft Designer Li Ming (一路向前 — 飞机设计专家李明), Aviation Industry Press (航空工业出版社), p. 333, ISBN 9787802439863, retrieved 5 June 2015
  6. ^ "SYAC UAV shendiao dual fuselage anti-stealth aircraft". Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c "High altitude, long endurance counter stealth UAV". Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c "High altitude, long endurance counter stealth unmanned aerial vehicle". Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "Divine Eagle counter stealth UAV". 28 May 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "HALE counter stealth unmanned aerial vehicle". Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  11. ^ Jeffrey Lin; P.W. Singer (Feb 6, 2015). "China Flies Its Largest Ever Drone: The Divine Eagle". Popular Science.
  12. ^ Khollam, Aamir (4 March 2025). "China's new spy drone with 310-mile radar range can track US stealth jets". Interesting Engineering.
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