Wing Loong I
Contents
Description
The Wing Loong I, designated as GJ-1 (攻击-1; attacker-1) in PLAAF service, is a Chinese strike UCAV. It was introduced in Update "Drone Age".
The first PLAAF UCAV in service and one of the earliest UCAVS from Asia, although having a missile with lesser penetration to USA/Russia counterpart, if utilized properly, it can do sufficient damage to enemy team with high precision; while players has to think twice for when to deploy an UCAV or alternatively deploy fixed-wing jets/rotorcrafts.
General info
Flight performance
| Max speed (km/h at 1,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| 220 | 220 | 7500 | 22.0 | 22.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 250 |
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| X | X | X | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 390 | 450 | N/A | N/A | N/A | ~__ | ~__ |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 200 | < 200 | < 200 | > ___ |
Survivability and armour
To say at least, although UCAVs of the era use composite materials for the airframe, but UCAV themselves are not designed for high-intensity battles and also flies slow in this case; any near misses or a direct hit from cannons or missiles is very likely to send Wing Loong straight back to the ground.
Armaments
Suspended armament
The Wing Loong I can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- 2 x AKD-9 missiles
Usage in battles
Like other available Strike UCAVs in the game, Wing Long I is available to all players playing ground battles and is beneficial to players who have not researched BR appropriate aircraft or helicopters.
You start off by spawning at an altitude of 4000 meters above the battlefield. Priority targets should be the enemy SPAA to allow your team's air support to fly without resistance. Enemy SPAAs are usually found stationary at the enemy spawn, though be aware of those moving closer to the frontlines as well. If there are no SPAA around, your next target would be enemy tanks that are near/on the capture points. Once you fire both AKD-9 missiles, you have three options:
- Loiter over the battlefield and provide reconnaissance: Just because you can no longer use your missiles doesn't mean you can't help your team! Fly around the battlefield and scan the area with your amazing optical camera. Once you spot any enemy vehicles that pose a threat to your team, quickly mark them on the map and tell your teammates using the in-game chat (alternatively if you have any squad mates, you can work with them and point out enemies nearby using the squad marker)
- Land and rearm: Once the two ATGM's are used, reduce your throttle and glide towards the airbase. Once you land, begin any repairs and necessary rearming so you can take off. It should be worth noting that the UCAVs suffers from a low speed and a horrid climb rate, making the return to base and return to the battlefield incredibly lengthy. In terms of battlefield survival, the drone's altitude is its only saving grace, as helicopters/attack aircraft will generally be at lower altitudes and SPAA's will have no trouble sending a very slow target back to the hangar screen. Consequently, fighting at low altitudes should be regarded as a suicide mission.
- Bail out of the vehicle and spawn in a more capable vehicle: While it feels counterintuitive to bail out of a vehicle that cost 750 spawn points, it is the fastest and best way to get you back into the battle. Using the spawn points you accumulated from the carnage your two missiles scored, you can get enough to spawn another tank, an attack aircraft, or a helicopter. The advantage of this is that you should have cleared the path for you or other pilots to make some damage, as the SPAA's and anti-air threats are no longer there.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Spawns at altitude (4000 meters)
- Exceptional optical camera
- Hard to counter by SPAA
- Available to everyone to use
Cons:
- Low max speed
- Horrid climb rate
- Access to only two ATGM's for a price higher than most helicopters and attack aircraft (which can carry more ATGM's)
- AKD-9 missiles performs horrible against ground targets
- AKD-9 missiles' range are limited comparing with other UAVs
- A large amount of time will be spent going from spawn to the airfield to rearm and back
History
Mainland China has been closely observed on different types of UAVs including those which flew and being shot down by PLAAF or those of foreign countries; as Israel and USAF has proved the necessity of deploying UAVs for recon or eliminating ground targets, the development for domestic UCAVs was given the green light at early 2000s with limited resources under the team of Li Yidong (李屹东), whose mother was also a employee of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation.
The team managed to gather spare parts from gliders and civilian products (such as the brakes, from motorcycles) and built an earlier prototype within 2 years; but this also meant the team has to rebuilt a new UCAV from scratch with every possible new standards introduced to the production, with 100 orders overseas overhead and new technologies from J-10's production, the new Wing Loong UCAV passed for tests in 2007 and its mock-up first shown in 2010's Zhuhai Airshow. Eventually introduced to PLAAF in early 2010s and was first shown to the public in 2012's Zhuhai Airshow then 2015's VJ Day parade known as GJ-1 UCAV, countries of Central Asia and Middle East purchased multiple batches of them and they became the cornerstone of Chinese export weapons where they scored multiple victories over insurgents and sometimes even fellow UCAVs, along with CH (彩虹, Rainbow) series UCAV.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (中航工业成都飞机工业集团) | |
|---|---|
| Jet Fighters | |
| J-7 | J-7II* · J-7D · J-7E |
| J-10 | J-10A |
| JF-17 | JF-17** |
| Drones | Wing Loong I |
| *Unlicensed and reverse-engineered version of the MiG-21. | |
| **Jointly developed and built by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. | |
| See Also | Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau · Pakistan Aeronautical Complex |
| Strike UCAVs | |
|---|---|
| USA | MQ-1 |
| USSR | Orion |
| China | Wing Loong I |
